Writing when the wheels are spinning

I’ve had about four weeks of frustration with my writing and blogging. I feel like my wheels are spinning; lots of activity but I’ve been going nowhere.

Actually, the driving analogy is very apt. I seem to have done nothing but drive over recent weeks. I do occasional relief driving for a local courier company. I recently went back to work full time for three weeks. While the pay was good, the hours were very long and the work exhausting. Not a good time for writing. In fact, there was little time spare for writing. I’m still trying to catch up with my email.

I’ve been trying to get back to the writing this week but I have really struggled to build momentum again after such a long break. I will not call it the dreaded “writer’s block” but it was not far from it. Many writers experience dry periods where it is a struggle to get the writing moving again. There may be plenty of activity – like the engine revving and the wheels spinning – but there is little if any forward movement. Sometimes we just can’t get going.

Robert over at the Middle Zone Musings writes about this topic too. His post called “How to counter the dreaded blankpageitis.” In this post he refers to my short story starters. These posts I have written are designed to get you writing so what about it? Give it a go – it can be great fun.

Good writing.

Another article worth reading – with several suggestions I know help me can be found here: Life sucks – writing on the bad days.

 

5 Responses to “Writing when the wheels are spinning”

  1. Peter says:

    There’s no doubt spinning the wheels is as much a writer’s life as picking up a pen. First impulse is to have a short black triple strength or swallow a no doze. I’m however working through a series of workshops where our tutor has suggested a couple of worthwhile ideas. One, is to take a walk. That may provide some short term relief that gets you going again. The other is to put aside all work and just read. Once you have removed the pressure to churn out work, you’ll relax. By the time you’ve read for over a week or two for just the sheer enjoyment, you’ll be refreshed and really reaching for the pen!

  2. Thanks for the inspiration, Trevor! Cheers, Mate! 🙂

  3. Trevor says:

    Thanks for the comments and suggestions Peter. I’ve tried the strategies you have suggested and know that they work for me too.

    You might want to check another article on this topic here:
    http://www.trevorhampel.com/life-sucks-writing-on-the-bad-days/

  4. Trevor says:

    Thanks for stopping by again Robert.

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