Very Tired, Very Cross: 7 Things To Do When You Just Can't Write
On staying in touch with your writing on bad or busy days
I have a satisfyingly battered copy of Agatha Christie’s autobiography. It was printed in 1977 and I picked it up years ago from a pile of equally battered volumes in Deptford Market, South London. Its pages are the thick, cream-coloured kind that makes a “wug-wug” sound when you flip through them and it has that great old glue and dust smell. But my favourite thing about this book is a few throwaway lines on page 257. Describing her experience of writing her first Poirot novel, Christie writes:
“I was excited by my new effort. Up to a point I enjoyed it. But I got very tired, and I also got cross. Writing has that effect, I find.”
Writing fiction is vexing. It is tiring. Sometimes, we can push through, get in the chair or behind the screen or into the café and get some damn words down. But sometimes we just can’t.
Some of us have mental and physical health challenges we live with every day. Others are carers - for children, for our loved ones. We have to earn money. We have to take care of home and life admin. Sometimes the words just do not come. There are many reasons why we might not be able to write every day.
Somedays I not only can’t write but I can’t actually do anything and I know many wonderful writers who would say the same. However, there are some days when I cannot write but I would like to do something to stay connected to the novel I’m writing.
Here is a list of the things you can do when you cannot write:
Lower Energy Activities:
1. Watch movies set when or where you are writing.
2. Watch movies that share your genre.
3. Watch movies that share a theme you are tackling.
If you like you can keep a notebook nearby for any little detail that jumps out as you as helpful: details from the setting, costume, or a line of great dialogue.
My all-time favourite ‘writer’s block’ fix is going to the movies. I sit in the centre of the 4th or 5th row with a hot cup of tea and a bag of sweet popcorn. I always end up fired up by the end.
4. Listen to podcasts on writing.
Some of my favourites include Writer’s Routine, The Story Grid, Penguin Podcast, and Confessions of a Debut Novelist.
Or just search for your favourite authors and see what podcasts they have appeared on. You can also YouTube your favourite authors and find all kinds of interviews from book tours and TV appearances.
Mid-Energy Activities
5. Create a mood board about your writing.
A mood board is a collage of images, textures, quotes and so forth put together to evoke the events, themes and/or tone of your story.
You can create a ‘real-life’ mood board by cutting out pictures from old magazines or even doing your own drawings.
You can also use Pinterest to create a virtual mood board and take images from all over the internet. Apple has just added ‘Freeform’ which you can use in a similar way.
Other people like using Canva, PowerPoint or Keynote.
The nice thing about mood boarding is you can do it while sitting with children (you can have them do their own), or while watching TV or sitting in bed.
6. Take advantage of all the free writing resources out there on the web!
If you’re up for a little problem-solving or you’re after some inspiration you can take a look at any number of websites that offer advice on all kinds of writing conundrums.
Substack, of course, is chockfull of writers offering insights into their own writing process as well as tips from publishers and agents.
The Curtis Brown Creative website has a fantastic blog that contains all kinds of tricks, interviews and advice while the Story Grid blog offers up practical advice on genre, structure and writing a scene that works.
7. Hit the Books
If you’re feeling unsettled, rereading an old favourite has the double advantage of being hugely comforting while reminding you why you like to write.
Read some books on writing. They seem to fall into two camps:
The first is the practical “How-To” guides that can help dig you out of a writing hole if you are having a particular problem with your scene. I recommend the “Teach Yourself” series for these kinds of books - I’ve gotten a lot out of the Teach Yourself Short Stories one!
The second type is the more autobiographical books on writing full of personal anecdotes from literary legends. Here is a list of the ones I love:
Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott
Negotiating with the Dead / On Writers and Writing - Margaret Atwood
Zen and the Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury
Daemon Voices - Philip Pullman
Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
Plotting and Writing Suspense - Patricia Highsmith
Or forget all about your own book for a while and dive into a new book and just enjoy reading for what it is. You’ll be taking in great phrases and interesting structural techniques without even trying.
Creative Writing Task:
This writing exercise is one of my favourites. It’s actually more of a game and is a fun way of coming up with character names or vignettes.
Make a list of people’s names. They can be celebrities, historical figures, friends’ names, names of colleagues or famous characters. Don’t think too hard about your list, just make sure you note down their first and last names. Make sure there is a good deal of space between the first and last names. Five or six names should be fine.
For example:
Sylvana Tomaselli
Orlando Bloom
Henri Fuseli
Shonda Rhimes
Chidi Anagonye
2. Next draw a line between the first and last names so that every first name ends up with a new last name. If you like you can ask someone else to do it for you. You should end up with a list of brand-new names.
For example:
Sylvana Bloom
Orlando Rhimes
Henri Tomaselli
Shonda Anagonye
Chidi Fuseli
3. Pick your favourite name and write down a few details about them. I always like to imagine their jobs, what their homes look like, what snacks or hobbies they might enjoy, who they might be in love with or what fascination they have.
For example:
I imagine Sylvana Bloom would be an old-school Private Investigator. Maybe she lived in a time when women weren’t welcome in the police force so she became a lone wolf detective. She eats cereal for dinner and sleeps with the tv on all night. She’s in love with a bartender who shows no interest in her other than to make sure she doesn’t get bothered by the other men at the bar she drinks in. She obsessively plays solitaire but never gambles.
4. Write a small scene or detailed description of your new character. If you like you could add a second character from your list.
Have fun with it!
Great ideas!
This is a lovely collection of suggestions, Olive!