5 Writing-Related Things to Do When You Can’t Write

When the words aren’t flowing — get your mind going

Struggling to write comes from:

Not being able to focus on writing due to other distractions and responsibilities.
Being too focused on writing that fear of imperfection holds you back.

Recently we went through a stage in my house where at least one of us was sick. It went on for weeks, and during that time my writing word count was sitting not too far from zero. I was either sick or exhausted from dealing with sickness, so my usual go-to writing times were non-existent.

But what really worried me was the lack of space in my mind for writing. I’d be going from room to room picking things up, wiping noses, changing nappies, trying to get some rest, and my writing projects weren’t even close to the forefront of my mind like they usually are.

So, when I wasn’t dealing with my own head full of snot (lovely, right?!) and needing sleep, I decided I needed to start immersing myself in the writing world again, which is how I’m beginning to make my way back to a semi-regular writing schedule.

The best thing about this: I’ve done it all before.

It’s not always sickness that leaves me stuck and unable to get writing. Sometimes I’m bogged down by life admin or busy with lots of social events week after week. Any kind of holiday period is the biggest non-writing culprit for me because it comes with a total lack of routine, which always throws me off.

It’s frustrating not being able to write whether it comes from simply not having enough time and/or space for it or whether you’re trying but sitting in front of a blank page because you feel blocked.

No matter the cause of a drop in word count, simply immersing yourself in the world of writing will keep your head in the game and inspire you to get back to it.

Five writing-related things I do when I can’t actually write

Listen to writing podcasts

I love listening to podcasts but never have enough time to sit and casually have a listen.

However, if I’m driving on my own or washing dishes or hanging out laundry, I pop my earphones in and make my way through as many minutes as possible of So You Want to be a Writer. I almost look forward to having to do the dishes just so I can listen in to Valerie and Allison and the author interview where I know I’ll pick up some new little gems of writing advice.

Whether I’ve been able to give the podcast my full attention or whether I’ve had a little four-year-old gremlin sneaking out of bed, disturbing my listening time with another important (translation: an attempt to stall sleep) question, I always walk away feeling ready to get back to getting words on a page.

Here are some other writing and/or reading podcasts on my list that I haven’t had time for yet but plan to get to one day:

Read writing craft books

Last November I participated in NaNoWriMo and got started on writing a middle grade novel. I reached my word count goal for the month (which was much smaller than NaNo’s 50k) but then found I was struggling to keep going once NaNoWriMo was all over.

After a couple weeks of not being able to push forward at all and getting nowhere, I grabbed my copy of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.

This helped immensely because part of my problem was that I hadn’t had enough time to fully outline and plan my novel, so making my way through Brody’s practical writing craft book was exactly what I needed to help me get back into it.

‘The Transformation Test’ checklist (page 75 in my edition) was the most useful this time (yes I’ve read over it many times!) because it forced me to go through every single section of my novel (whether already written or not) and answer each question. It even helped me come up with ideas in areas I wasn’t sure about yet because the questions gave me direction.

Here are three other fabulous resources I’ve turned to recently because they include practical steps and exercises to get words down:

The Writing Book by Kate Grenville
Kickstart Your Novel by Julie Proudfoot
Write a Novel: How to Outline a Book in Three Hours by Shaunta Grimes

Catch some author/writer talks

Like podcasts, I don’t have time to sit and listen to author talks just for fun. But, when I’m pedalling away on my exercise bike and unable to write (yes, I often write while I exercise), I’ll check out some author/writer talks.

There’s something fascinating about hearing and/or seeing your favourite authors talk about their books and their writing processes that you can’t get from just reading their work.

I particularly enjoy hearing about how authors navigated the process of having their first book published because this is where you gain insight into all the hard work it takes to get that first one out there.

It’s refreshing to get the reality check that no one really has overnight success. Even if you’re well and truly aware of that, it’s encouraging to be reminded of it and hear specifics around an individual’s process and how much effort comes before a book enters the hands of readers— it puts our own writing struggles into perspective if well-known authors struggled (or still struggle) with writing and all that comes with it too.

The most recent talks I’ve checked out:

YALLFest that ran in November 2020 included author panels and masterclasses. Given that I live in a totally different timezone, I wasn’t able to register for anything to watch live, however, all recordings have been made available on YouTube (you’ll find a link for them here). I’m still making my way through and grateful that so much useful information about the world of writing has been made so accessible.
A wonderful client/friend gifted me with a Masterclass subscription, so I took on a bunch of the writing classes and soaked up knowledge from Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, and R.L. Stine. I felt so grateful for this gift because I was able to tune in at times when writing wasn’t forthcoming — it was a big help in finding my writing spark again.

Here are some I didn’t catch but am interested in checking out:

Picture Book Palooza (PBPalooza)
Author TED Talks
Hay Festival
SCBWI Winter Conference (upcoming — Feb 2021)

Talk to other writers

Community is essential, especially considering that writing is so solitary. I found it scary reaching out to the writing community in the beginning because I felt so out of my depth, but now I’m a part of several writing communities on all different platforms.

I cannot count the number of times I’ve stumbled across useful information and opportunities I wouldn’t have discovered on my own. It’s also incredibly helpful being able to ask questions of other writers and receive feedback.

Plus, it’s exciting and a whole lot of fun making friends and chatting about this great big love of writing we all share.

Twitter is probably my biggest go-to for any kind of information a writer would want to know.

Many literary agents are very active on Twitter and they provide a wealth of information about everything to do with finding an agent, but also the publishing industry itself — in their line of work they need to know about trends and are (often) privy to insider information within the industry.

The writing community is incredibly active on there too and I love that it’s possible to put a question out there and pick the brains of likeminded folk.

While Twitter is great for interacting with the broader writing community, it’s also great to interact in smaller chat groups that have a niche focus. I’m currently in a chat group for picture book writers, one for querying authors, and a couple of other general support groups.

In addition to Twitter, I also engage with the writing community on:

Discord — I was invited to join a community on there from a group that initially started via Twitter. But you can easily find writing-related servers via search on Discord and simply request to join.
Instagram — I’ve been on Instagram engaging with the community for about eight years. I fell off the wagon after an issue with my account stopped me from engaging with people for a while, and I haven’t found my way back just yet. However, I’ve found that Instagram isn’t quite as political as Twitter so sometimes it’s a nice break to pop over and scroll through pics of books and read over posts without being slammed by the latest news that’s circulating.
Scribophile — I have a free Scrib account and found this one great for giving critique, which in turn helps my own writing, plus the general writing community is fab. The only problem I had with this is that I wasn’t ready to share work just yet and so ended up spending a lot of time critiquing others. It’s a great exercise and something I do professionally, but I didn’t have enough free time to dedicate to it every day, which is what I’d need to really get the most out of it.
Facebook — I’ve almost completely dropped off Facebook but am still a member of a number of writing-related groups on there. If not for a parenting freelance writing group, I’d never have figured out how to get my writing published on websites like Kidspot and Essential Baby. It’s through these groups that I found all I needed to know about getting started. The best thing is, there are groups for every kind of writing, and so much valuable interaction and information to be shared.

Spend time on research

When I’m talking about research I’m talking about either:

Research for what you’re trying to write about

Researching the publishing industry

Obviously both are important for different stages of the writing process.

If you’re feeling stuck, it may well be that you need more information before you can start writing again.

I’ve been researching water restrictions, drought, and the use of bore water for the middle grade novel I’ve been working on. Sometimes I need to step back and do more research before I can move forward because, for example, I had no clue whatsoever about how bore water works — I’m still no expert but some online research gave me enough to keep me going with my novel.

(Just make sure you don’t get stuck becoming an expert while you go down a research rabbithole and procrastinate the actual writing of your novel.)

I also enjoy researching the publishing industry because it motivates me to hurry up and join it with my own published work.

Mostly I research editors, agents, and publishers. But I also dig into blog posts by and interviews with authors I like reading and/or those publishing works similar to what I’m working on.

Bookmarking is your friend here. I do make lists as well but am careful not to go to too much effort when I’m so far from actually sending my work to an editor, agent, or publisher because it can feel overwhelming knowing I’ve still got a long way to go.

When researching agents, I highly recommend the use of Query Tracker (even more useful when starting to query).

If on the search for a suitable editor, professional bodies like IPEd (Institute of Professional Editors Limited) and CIEP (Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading) are a good place to start because they include directories where you can search for members.

But that’s all just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much information available and so much you can research to add to your knowledge base while you can’t write. It’s all about staying productive until you can get back to what you really want to be doing — writing.

To sum up

Even when you can’t get words down on a page, immerse yourself in the world of writing in other ways.

Listen to writing podcasts
Read writing craft books
Catch some author/writer talks
Talk to other writers
Spend time on research

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