Posted on April 3, 2020 at 10:32 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Many writers are finding themselves in a cruel conundrum: they have more time on their hands and more readers clamoring for entertainment … but less drive to actually write.
The first — and maybe most important — thing to know is that you are not alone.
Even such confident, established writers as Kristine Kathryn Rusch are feeling the effects of the worldwide uncertainty, tension, and chaos.
So here’s her advice, doled out to writer friends now and other friends in the past: be kind to yourself.
As she writes:
Yes, you “should be” writing more, since you’re at home, but so many of you are also teaching your kids and dealing with your spouse and worrying about money, and relearning the art of handwashing. You’re worried about your family far away and your friends nearby, whom you can’t really see right now.
That’s a lot of bandwidth. That’s a lot of emotional stuff to keep track of. And even if you’re doing really well — which many of you who contact me are — you’re still burning through more emotions every day than you’re used to.
You can read more about how she’s processing the current situation on her blog.
In a similar vein is a guest post from writer, coach, and editor Lisa Cooper Ellison on Jane Friedman’s blog.
She’s certainly found herself struggling to write despite having ideas and projects to work with.
Ellison has turned to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explain this and address it.
For those who don’t remember the theory, it’s that certain basic needs must be met before anything else can happen — so, say, an author who’s struggling to meet their basic survival needs or even to feel a sense of physical security is bound to struggle with the higher-level need that enables creativity.
Check out Ellison’s tips for taking care of the base needs on Jane Friedman’s blog.
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