What to do when you can’t write!
Writing through illness and other obstacles.
We hear a lot about how to deal with writer’s block and other obstacles, but what can you do when you are prevented from writing, either by illness, injury or other circumstances beyond your control? A while back just after I had settled into a lovely distraction free period of working on my memoir, I came down with a nasty case of shingles around my left eye. After three visits to Emergency, lots of eye doc appointments, acupuncture and two months of lying low, very low, with hellish nerve pain and other complications, I slowly regained enough energy to sit at my desk.
When someone remarked — all that time off, you must have got a lot of writing done, my reply was — nada, zilch, nothing.
Writing requires energy and when you don’t have it, the next best thing for a writer who can’t write, of course, is reading.
Reading is fine if you have eyes that work. In my my case a swollen, continually watering, light sensitive eye, causing double vision, was not conducive.
Audio books I hear you say! Well, yes, as long as you aren’t irritated by the reader’s voice or keep falling asleep halfway into Chapter One.
Podcasts became my saviour, although you have to be selective as over zealous hosts can also be a source of irritation.
But what do you do when writing ideas are still coursing about in your brain and you don’t have the energy to lift your pen. How do you write when you can’t write?
Here’s a few ideas I came up with…
Play Write Your Memoir w/oWriting. This entails going back you your earliest memories, remembering them in great detail and mentally listing them. You can even imagine a contents page with jaunty headings.
Divide the previous exercise into categories. Like memories of food, friends, relatives, pets, cars, clothes, bicycles, houses, holidays etc.
Come up with one liners (still only mentally) that best describe these things.
Record the best lines on your phone.
Play The Most Literary Sentence. From your sick bed or in your doctor’s waiting room choose random things around the room to describe. Try different versions of describing the same thing.
Play The Synonym Game over and over.Example: The bed lamp like a ………. See how many different synonyms you can come up with for the same object. Record the best ones or get someone to write them on post it notes and stick around the room.
Daydream/dream — about all the things you have written and all the things you will write.
Imagine a life without writing, maybe it’s not so bad after all!
Don’t be too desparate about not writing, a rest is as good as a holiday they say!
If you’ve had too much time off writing lately (and you live in the Southern Hemispshere or at a compatible time zone like Japan) and want to get your writing crackling, consider joining Draft Busters Online.
Sign up for a month of twice weekly workshops:
Motivation Mondays — 11am- 12.30pm. (AEST) Set timetables, goals, discuss and receive tips on a specific area of writing craft, do a meditative writing exercise.
Feedback Fridays — 3–5.30pm.(AEST) Read and excerpt your work (up to 1000 words) and receive supportive and contructive feedback from fellow writers and your tutor, moi.
Book here now.
What 2020/21 Draft Busters say:
Jan has such a natural flair for being an intuitive and motivating guide in the writing and creative process. Her ‘live’ guided meditations are gateways to tap into one’s stream of consciousness and it becomes a literary adventure as she helps you access innermost thoughts and memories that launch fresh paths in your writing. She inspires and leads like a maestro, orchestrating inspiring sessions of deep sharing and learning. Having done 3 months of Draft Buster Sessions during the COVID19 lockdown, I have grown and learned so much under her continued tutelage and the feedback from the other writers she has gathered in the group. With her, I have not only learned how to write better and more consistently but have found the guided writing process an immense healing tool as I forge on with my memoir. Thank you so much, Jan! Sabrina Renee Chong, memoir writer, Singapore.
I have worked with Jan Cornall for over a decade. She met me as an inexperienced and nervous writer and helped me find my voice and style. Jan supported me through false starts, rewrites, yet more rewrites and even more rewrites, until my first novel, The Wardrobe Girl, was published by Random House. Jan’s approach is encouraging, warm and constructive and her use of guided meditation as a way into writing is brilliant. With the help of Draft Busters, I am now embarking on a second novel and couldn’t hope for a better guide. Jennifer Smart, novelist, Newcastle, Australia
Draftbusters has been instrumental in giving me the confidence to start a new novel. I need to research various aspects of it but didn’t want that to stifle the development of character. Jan’s guidance in the craft of writing combined with meditations that help the writing flow have prompted a regular word count each week which is encouraging. The writers in the group are not only talented but generous with their ideas and support, and provide a nurturing environment in which to read those first tentative drafts. Jennifer Moore, novelist, Adelaide, Australia.
Draft Busters has been a lifesaver. We have had Motivation Mondays, which include a meditation guided by Jan that takes one to a dimension not reached alone. Jan has a unique gift that allows latent scenarios to surface.Writing is known to be therapeutic and these sessions have been healing. Feedback Fridays see us reading an excerpt of our week’s writing in a supportive environment, which is greatly satisfying and constructive. We have all improved under Jan’s tutelage, her guidance is exceptional. Lisa Sharkey, memoir writer, Sydney, Australia.
© Jan Cornall 2021