This won't be a long post. I've been struggling with benign positional vertigo (translation: I'm gonna be fine, but really dizzy), and even now, sitting upright for too long isn't fun. But that brings us to a crucial topic.
At some point, your life as a writer will turn upside down. When it does, I want you to be ready.
When Life Turns Upside Down
The problems may come from health issues, from financial strain, from emotional stress, from relationship trouble, from any and every corner. It may come from the 500th rejection from an agent, from an unwelcome review or critique, or from plain old writer's block.
Wherever it comes from, whatever turns your writing life upside down, I want you to be ready.
Step One: Believe Before Your Life Turns Upside Down
You are a writer.
You need to believe this. It doesn't need to be “proven.” If you write at all, you're a writer. When the days come that it's hard, you're still a writer—and you need to believe that.
An athlete is still an athlete on the days she's sprained her wrist and cannot practice.
A singer is still a singer on days when his voice is shredded and he can't speak a word.
And you are a writer even on those days when your life turns upside down and you can't write.
What you do doesn’t determine who you are; who you are determines what you do.
—Neil Anderson
Those days when it all sucks and everything's upside down (or in my case, nauseatingly dizzy), you're still a writer. Believe that going in, and you'll have an easier time believing it getting through.
Step Two: Mental Practice
Of course, just because you're unable to physically write doesn't mean you should sit back and do nothing. When your writing life turns upside down, this is the time to think.
Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.
—Barbara Kingsolver
What do your characters really want? What's the theme of your story? Your antagonist thinks he's the good guy, don't forget; so what's his rationale?
Is the humor you use appropriate to the topic? What about love? What or whom do your characters love?
If you were reading this book instead of writing it, what would you want to see? What resolution would you need to see by the end? (Hint: that's the resolution you need to write.)
Non-fiction writers: what are you trying to prove or teach through your book? Why is your book necessary?
A gymnast thinks through their next routine, mentally preparing.
A singer studies notes, listens to music, and prepares for the time when they can sing again.
Don't just think; read. Read while everything is blowing up. Yes, you have time—five minutes here, ten minutes there. Read something wonderful to refill your love of writing.
Think. Read. Don't just ride it out. None of your time needs to be wasted.
Step Three: Write it Anyway
You had to know I was going there eventually.
One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tell myself that I’m going to do my five or ten pages no matter what, and that I can always tear them up the following morning if I want. I’ll have lost nothing—writing and tearing up five pages would leave me no further behind than if I took the day off.
—Lawrence Block
Newsflash: when your writing life has turned upside down, you are going to write crap.
And that is allowed.
It won't make you a worse writer. If you write when you know it's crap and you just keep pushing through, you will become a better writer.
Don't just take my word for it.
That means it's okay to write 51 short stories that suck. Yes, for real.
It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.
—C. J. Cherryh
Oh, but Bradbury and Cherryh both wrote scifi/fantasy. What about non-fiction? (Spoiler alert: it still applies.)
Every professional writer knows this. From romance authors—
The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.
—Nora Roberts
—to very definitely Not Romance authors (like the one who wrote Slaughterhouse Five).
What you write when your life is upside-down probably won't be good, but it will make you a better writer. It will make you a stronger writer. It will make you a smarter writer.
Prepare Before Upheaval
Practice these three things before life turns upside down for you: believe you're a writer; get used to thinking about what you're going to write (mental practice matters); and finally, when you have an inch of space, write it anyway—no matter how it turns out.
What do you do when your writing life turns upside down? Let me know in the comments.
PRACTICE
It's time for practice. Take fifteen minutes and start practicing thinking about your book. If you don't have a work in progress to think about, grab one of these story ideas to think about.
Answer questions about the characters, the theme, the plot, etc., and be sure to take notes as you go. When you’re done, share your writing in the comments, and remember to leave feedback for your fellow writers!
Ruthanne,
I loved this post as I have carpal tunnel. I’ve been dealing with it for over 2 years now. I have been practicing writing with it everyday for the last couple of weeks by doing some free writing. I want to participate in NANOWRIMO just to see if I can do it. I’m one of those writers though that likes to use paper and pen for their first draft because I like the way the paper feels as my hand moves across the page. I’ve gotten hand cramps from it before I was told I had carpal tunnel. I didn’t get carpal tunnel from all my writing though that was from my day job.
First, please feel better soon, vertigo is not fun. But maybe? one of your characters can now benefit because you could so well describe what it’s like to have that experience… too soon? This article feels like it’s a pep talk for me, for Nano, to help ‘shut up’ the Evil Inner Critic, for days it will be hard to write.
I feel I had a little kind of break-through this morning: I’ve been writing a little almost every morning since June, following a book of exercises. On days I didn’t write, it was like: “I just don’t feel like it today.” I thought that was almost going to happen today: I was rushed this morning before work, didn’t feel awake, couple things went upside down. But writing started to pull at me; I saw I really could leave a few minutes for it and I grabbed it and wrote.
I still need to practice on sharing what I’m writing about, don’t feel secure about my premise, and still working it out, and mentally practicing it.
Aww, please tell us! Your premise is probably better than you think, and even if it’s terrible, you’re among friends here.
lol, Bruce: something like: Told through a personal assistant’s /narrator’s eyes: main character is a wife ( once upon a time child bride), married to a Star Professor who has taken on a new protégée again for the umpteenth time. The wife has had it. She wants to get rid of the protégée and get the message to her husband so clearly, that he never takes on a protégée again.
Whew. I spilled it. Thanks.
Feels better, doesn’t it? You have a protagonist with a goal and conflict. Sounds like it just needs to be written.
Yes it does, it did., still shaking a little. I’m off filling out some outline things so I’ll be ready Nov.1. Thanks for making it feel safe.
That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to encourage each other.
Very interesting article, I struggle with CTS and Rotator Cuff Tendinitis as well and sometimes I lose focus from the pain. I’m working on a few short film scripts and the pain takes over.
I’m so sorry to hear that! Pain is terribly distracting, no question; it robs time, concentration, and confidence. I’m inspired by your struggle, and encourage you to keep going. Maybe try voice-to-text as an aid?
Best of luck with what you’re going through!
Thank you, I got to keep it pushing.
Feel better soon. I was thinking this morning just as I read,”It could be the 500th rejection letter” just how many things out there I had. I’m still waiting ( I think – will have to check- ) on a greeting card idea, and a bata reader I sent a story two sent me back her thoughts. When they say : “I’m going to be brutally honest with you: you should be ready…..But along with the not so good things she also had some good things to say, and its those things I need to hold on to if I want to continue with this story.. which I do- I just need to tear it apart , do research , and edit it get rid of this change that.
I’m even trying to still write an essay for Nov 1st . 1st draft is done just need it looked at and edits before I send.
Thanks for this post It helps to remind me who I am…..
Wow! You are inspiring! me with all your sticks in the fire, multitasking, Debra! ;~D
I admire your courage in sending stuff ‘out there’, bare naked! and being able to stand the feedback. Sending you lots of good wishes.
I’m so glad to hear that, Debra! Submitting is never easy, definitely. I lost track of my rejections after 150!
Keep going. Edit if you must, but don’t get stuck in an editing loop. Keep writing new things! You can do this, Debra!
That’s my problem, always editing and not staying on one piece. Trying to write an essay about….. Every woman has a moment, and cant get it right. Frustrating…. Sorry didn’t mean to vent here.
Get well soon. Though I am not an expert, but I have heard that yoga can help with these kinds of physical problems. Maybe you can consult a professional yoga teacher about it and give it a try.
Whenever I read these kinds of posts about difficulties in a writer’s life, my imaginary writer friend Lolita and her loving husband Andrew appears in my mind with a similar scenario as mentioned in the post.
So here they are again:
He spotted her standing beside the window, her head resting on the windowpane dejectedly, a forlorn look in her eyes. His heart ached to see that melancholy scene and without wasting another moment, he hugged her from behind, “What is it sweetheart? “
What a beautiful story!
Nice post. This part made me sad “Newsflash: when your writing life has turned upside down, you are going to write crap.” But it’s also good–and slightly inspiring–to see it in writing and admit it.
Whenever bad things happen (more often than not, this is in the form of pieces falling off our house) I find it so difficult to get into the mood to write. And we can all guess how that turns out: I’m in a bad mood, my writing will be just as bad as my mood, so why bother?
Well, you’re right in this post. Just keep pushing through, and you will not only get over it, buy you’ll become a better writer. And really, writing is a job. You can’t skip out on your day job just because you’re not in the mood, so you shouldn’t be able to do that on your “nights and weekend” job either.
Ruthanne, this is such a great article! It is so true. Write no matter what. Write fearlessly and get it down. Especially when things are going haywire in your own life. It a way to creatively vent. Even when you read your story back to yourself out loud and it doesn’t sound like the best chapter or scene you’ve ever written. Be brave. Write it anyways. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that and one of my fellow writers who review my story (and I review theirs) see things in it in an entirely different light than when you wrote them. Somehow you have to get distance from your story to see the value in what you wrote. Kill the inner critic and just do it! At the very least, it’s great practice. At the very most, it could be a bestseller.
When I write something I consider sub par, I remind myself there are some million-dollar franchises I don’t care for at all.
Well, I was born ‘Upside down,’ as in ‘sick’ on multiple levels, so I’m used to creating differently from those who are physically healthy.
On my *really* bad days, weeks, months, or even years (yes, that’s happened a couple of times on my journey), I try to write what I call *an immortal line.*. Sometimes I do come up with a jewel, and occasionally a paragraph or two, or a poem or song that seems to fall from the sky.
I’m not good at doing nothing; in fact, I don’t believe I know how. Life is such an inspirational gift that the succukence of it demands to be written down. It’s also the best way I know of giving thanks.
Love, and All Good Things,
Jesse.
http://www.jesseleighbrackstone.com
LOVED this Ruthanne! Please feel better soon and I will definitely keep this advice in mind!! I always take a day off when I don’t write and then I berate myself later for even doing that. Time to change that attitude. As a perfectionist, I don’t like writing crummy things the first time but maybe if I change my attitude on that as well, I’ll get more done and things will be different!! Excellent article!
I was just thinking yesterday about the non-writing days being thinking and reading days, and how important that is, so it was edifying to read it here. I have CFSME and so have way too many non-writing days. And yet I’ve still managed to find, in the last 17 years, my voice, and developed my craft, and sold a few essays and short stories. I try to think of the analogy of a compost pile, with all that I want to write but can’t getting folded into that pile where it breaks down into lush loam that will be able to be used at another time when I’m more stable.
I’ve also learnt in those 17 years, in the good patches, what it feels to flow when I’m able to write each day, and how that pump gets primed when it’s a daily practice so that the flow comes clear and strong and delights me. Knowing the possibility of that and then having to let that rhythm go in the bad times is excruciating. It’s kind of like editing my own writing life – creating something good only to realise the whole bloody thing has to be scrapped in order to start again at another time.
Very painful. But also clarifying – being unable to write helps you understand what you’re most passionate about writing when you’re able to.
I had vertigo about half a year ago. I did two things to cure it. First I followed my doctors orders and did my Epley maneuvers. Then, whenever I had vertigo I cheered… because it was so long ago I visited a tivoli… and you know life: if it’s fun it’s not going to last… Long story short, it disappeared in about one and a half day… (because I was having fun… I think.) Now it only comes back as a slight sense of wobbliness when I’m stressed.
When my life gets upside down (I might say it still is… I mean, life is never perfect in my experience) I try to use the experience … like, “this would be nice to implement in a story. What if a character had this problem?” Or, as you’ve obviously done, write a blog post about it…
After all, if everything is sunshine and popsicles, what are we going to write about? Sunshine and popsicles? Mmm… Problems might not be a gift from the Universe/Gods/Powers That Be, but they can certainly be transformed into it…
I think all authors could use a bit of the Chinese curse (which, according to Wikipedia, apparently is not a curse at all), “may you live in interesting times.” I wan’t to live in interesting times! Then there’ll be stuff to write about!
Sunshine and popsicles….I see conflict even there. Imagine a story about a child (protagonist) trying to eat a popcicle (motivation) on a hot, sunny day (conflict). I think a talented writer could turn this into a very entertaining short story.
Hahaha! True. I’ve bumped into a few people in my life that can create conflict out of nothing 😀
EVERY day is a writing day, even if I don’t write.
For the past few weeks, I’ve had a touch of writer’s block. A dry spell in which the stream of ideas had been dammed up and run dry.
I still wrote, but not for my WIP. Yet I still managed to work on my WIP, even if I didn’t compose a single sentence for it. I listened to music that makes me think of my protagonist. I watched a movie about a character who is the literary father of my protagonist. I thought about the antagonist and how he was rather two-dimensional. I also read and absorbed ideas seemingly unrelated to my WIP. I observed everything I could, and thought about how I would describe them.
Finally, the dam broke, and the floodwaters of ideas have become a torrent! I realize now I was stuck because I was trying to make the story much more complicated than it is. Simplifying the story has made it a lot easier to write and will, I hope, make more sense to the readers. As for my antagonist, I not only have fleshed him out somewhat, but I also have multiple ideas for him. This may eventually translate to sequels!
Write everyday. Even days you don’t write.
[I have no idea if that was fifteen minutes, since I forgot to set a timer. Please take care of yourself, Ruthanne, And thanks for the article.]
Thank you for this article. This makes me feel better as a writer. We can and do mess up and it’s okay. I like being a writer more and more.
I do write when life is upside down, which it happens to be right now. I’m part of a group who writes 500 words a day and I’ve been part of it for almost 4 years now. For me, it’s grief that will come in and try stealing my words. I struggle a while and sometimes grief wins and sometimes I do. But when I am writing in grief…he sneaks in and makes his presence known. Is it a bad thing? No, then I’m speaking to others who are hurting.
Superb post. In a cutest way, it explains how an author reacts to the compelling situations, while writing a book.
Hi Ruthanne,
I hope you feel better.
I needed this today. Thank you.
xo
Pamela
It’s funny they had this post about being upside down. I’ve been in nothing but pain, stuck in bed most of day because I need both knees replaced…all I think about is my story, writing..I set up note pads everywhere to write. So where every I my waddle to I can write if I can. Then on good day when I can walk I gather all my notes and put them in my computer. Ugh I hate this, but we need to turn our bad into a good even if it kills us (so to speak). Lol