Creativity on demand: when you write for a living
The thing about writing for a living is that writing is a creative discipline best executed when inspiration strikes, while work is more of a “do-it-now” kinda space, usually with some “hurry up” thrown in. The clash can be fierce.
What’s a writer to do when they need to write now but inspiration is nowhere to be found? And on the flip side, what about when you have so much to write and no time to write it because life? Creative juices don’t always flow at the moment you need them. But what if they have to?
After many years as a freelancer, shifting to writing in-house at a hi-tech company was a real shock. I’d never written sitting in front of my client before, in real time. Previously, the client gave their brief, I offered a price and turnaround time, they gave the green light and off I went to do my thing. Whenever and wherever it suited me. Then, all of the sudden, I found myself sitting in front of the CMO and some committee I was too stressed out to notice, with my screen projected on his, typing as they made suggestions, proposing solutions as fast as they proposed problems. I left the room out of breath, heart racing, and hoping fruitlessly that I’d never have to do it again. I told my boss afterwards, “That whole writing on the spot thing? I don’t do that.”
“You do now,” was all she had in the way of comfort. And indeed, I do.
But how? How is a writer meant to write in a completely uninspired moment? Here are a few ways I manage to schlep myself through my tasks when I’m just not feeling it.
Switch it up
I had so much homework in high school that I didn’t have time for breaks. (Yeah, nerd, I know.) My parents taught me a productivity hack that I use to this day: when your brain gets mushy, switch it up. When I couldn’t take another math problem, I wrote an art history essay, and when that felt stale it was onto my science fair project, then back to math and so on.
Now I do the same at work, and like in high school, there is never a shortage of tasks to choose from. If my brain is fuzzy, I might not attack a brand new product’s onboarding flow in that moment. I might start with some internal documentation or job descriptions for HR. Next I might be ready to ramp up to copy for a Facebook marketing campaign and later, a landing page. Sometimes urgency gets in the way, but within my realm of discretion, this hack helps me a lot.
Same with my own writing: been working on a long technical post and feel stuck? Shift to a podcast review. Getting bored with that? Go back to the technical piece or start something completely new.
Sometimes it’s less about what it is you’re moving forward and more about getting yourself moving.
Leverage the panic
Have a task due in three hours and just can’t seem to hunker down? Grab another coffee and consider it a race against time. Switch on your most competitive vibe and dare yourself not to finish in time. Convert stress to fuel. Remind yourself of the consequences — your reputation, primarily — and then write like there’s no tomorrow. Consider it war and get it done.
Riding the panic is a mind game, and once you practice switching it on, I find it a viable tool for getting through dry spells.
Vomit on the paper (screen)
This works as a stand-alone technique or together with leveraging the panic. It means boxing up the perfectionist in you — writers do tend to be perfectionists — and setting it aside. Then vomiting out anything and everything that comes to mind and is potentially relevant to the task at hand. Don’t correct typos. Don’t even look at the screen. And definitely don’t think too hard. Just write. As fast as you can for as long as you can. Then go back and edit.
Chances are, somewhere buried in all the garbage is exactly the seed you need to grow into your final piece. Sometimes it’s just easier to find that seed in dirt poured across paper than inside your head.
Bribe yourself
And now for a less hysterical approach… I’m all about the treats. I set small, attainable goals and proportionate rewards.
I started using this technique whilst dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare that comes with immigrating to a new country. There were days I promised myself a glass of wine for every new government office I was sent to in a day, or every form I was told I’d submitted incorrectly, and ended up very drunk those nights.
The same approach works on slow writing days. Get though the smallest task on your list — eat some chocolate. Write something a little longer — wine it is. Attack the heaviest, least exciting project on your desk — a new dress (or whatever) is waiting for you at the end of the tunnel!
You can do it
Creativity on demand is a challenge for all writers. But I also believe it’s an important set of muscles to exercise if we want to make a living doing what we love. If you have more hacks to add to this list, please let me know! We can all use them.
