5 Steps To Getting Out Of A Creative Slump As A Writer

What I am learning as a part-time, side-hustling, solo-creator

I have been in a creative slump as a writer for the last couple of years.

I’ve tried getting on every new platform and idea I can find to help jumpstart my creativity, writing, following, and income.

Yet, I find myself feeling like I am starting at the beginning. The truth is, you can be on every platform in the world and still find failure and not success.

Over the last few months, I have been going back to my roots. I am writing my next book, posting regularly on one writing platform, and building one social media page.

And you know what, it has helped me get out of my slump.

How to Succeed as a Part-Time, Side Hustling Writer

But there are a few other things that have helped me a ton. These realizations about my writing work and creativity as a side hustling, part time writer and author have shook things up.

Creative Priorities

I have a hard time with priorities in general. And with my creative ones, it’s no different. It’s easy for me to identify my priorities. However, it is hard for me to stick with them daily.

I love starting things. I love shiny new objects. And because of this, I can quickly bounce around from one thing to the next. Especially when I get comfortable with something.

Yet, if I want to take self-publishing seriously, I need to focus on that, even though building my author platform and everything else is essential.

Learn more:

Ask The Hard Questions

Look, you need to know yourself. What are you about? What is most important to you? Would you be willing to create if you don’t make money? Are you willing to invest time, energy, and learning to improve?

You need to ask yourself the hard questions because they will define your success in the end. Your answers will give you a better idea of what to expect too. If you aren’t willing to put in the investment, you aren’t going to see huge success.

When I get into the hard questions, it fuel me. I find inspiration and motivation. Even if the answers aren’t what they might need to be to succeed. The key is knowing where you are and deciding where you are willing to go.

Read on:

Understand Your Reality

Being a part-time creator is hard. Shoot, most of us have day jobs, families, and other obligations that keep us from going into Monk-mode, or super creator work on a regular basis.

Yet, what I have found, is that when we embrace our reality, we can figure out how to make the time to get things done on our creations and find ways to succeed.

It’s not about eliminating things from life, it is about finding the time when we can create and thrive in our creative work. And embracing the fact that we are who we are and live in the situation we live in.

Here’s a little more on this one:

Do The Work

Ultimately, we have to do the work. There is no way to get around it. Sure, we can hire it out. Sure, we can ask Chat GPT to do it. But it won’t be as effective as our personality, stories, and words.

Now, I don’t mean to act all militant about it. But the truth is that the work has to get done and you are the only one who can do your work.

So, are you ready to do the work? Are you ready to get behind the computer screen, put your fingers to the keyboard, and start spilling your guts? If so, then you are ready to do the work. If not, you might want to find something else to do.

It’s more than sitting your butt in the seat and typing:

Practice in Public

It isn’t enough to write 100 blog posts or ten books and leave them in your computer’s word processor. You have to put the work out there and see what sticks. At first, it is going to be a lot of failures.

But, over time, you will string together a lot more successes. Those will build on themselves in a platform, catalog of books, or whatever else you want to do.

Sure, there will be more failures along the way, but you will get better at learning and adapting from those failures. Most of all, there will be moments where your failures will help other people or they will even help you gain followers.

What’s it really mean to practice in public:

Final Thoughts on Side Hustling, Part-Time Writing

Ultimately, you need to start.

You won’t know if. you can win or succeed without actually putting yourself out there and creating content.

If you take these steps above and create a consistent writing and publishing habit, the sky is the limit.

But, you have to start.

There is no way to get around it. And once you start, you need to keep going. If you can do that, you will find your potential and your sweet spot.

If you don’t do well, don’t worry about dreaming about the life of a writer and author. You might as well give that up and do something else.

I know that sounds harsh, but sometimes, this truth needs to be said. There are plenty of people who start, fall off the writing wagon, and never get back on.

If you want to make it happen, here is a simple way to get started:

Write on Medium, join the Medium Partner Program, get your followers and apply to get paid. And you can do all five of these steps right here on Medium.

So, what are you waiting for?

Learn more about Self-Publishing with J.R. Heimbigner on Substack!

J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and helping writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack!

Start Here!

Are there other books to read? Sure, are. I have two short lists of them in my Writer’s Starter Pack on Gumroad (It’s free, you should check it out). The only other book I want to highlight is my own.

It’s called Transform Your Medium Stories.

Initially written for writers on the Medium platform, the content of this book works for any online content. And it is a great short guide to help you write and publish your first book. So grab your copy today!

Don’t Miss Out!

Also, I would like to invite you to join the Medium community where you can unlimited access to articles on Medium. Once you’ve joined the community, step into my inner circle by subscribing to all my articles (that way you never miss one).

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