Why It’s Okay Not to Write — A Reminder to Myself

I haven’t written in months. But writers write, don’t they? Not always. I am one of them who currently don’t — and I’m okay with that.

Some time ago, I used to have anxiety and stress whenever I didn’t write something for even a single day. It happened out of guilt that I forced myself to write anything, but the moment my fingers touched the keyboard, I’d freeze. Freak out. And then I’d freak out over freaking out.

After suffering from a meltdown for the umpteenth time, I just let go of everything. Frustration was at its highest peak and I had to let pass by some writing-free time. I felt that forcing myself to write something — anything! — would only destroy my creativity, and probably make me sick in the process. This major block I’d been encountering was a sign that it was time to step away from my work and focus on something completely different. Suddenly, I realized something: This period of valuable downtime was downright necessary for my creativity because it gave me a new perspective.

Writing is an art. It takes focus, time, and energy. But it is also hard. Mind-numbingly hard. One of the best things about being a writer is that we get to live to write and write to live. Sometimes it becomes difficult to remember the first part because of deadlines, life priorities, and duties, but living our life to the fullest is essential to our writing. I was afraid to stop writing so much that I forgot that I could also indulge in other creative activities. I could try new things. I could explore. I just had to turn off my computer, get outside and connect with the other three-dimensional world. I could also fight to cope with the problem, pick up the pen and write other literary stuff. Anything, but just freeze and remain stuck in this situation.

In fact, I tried a lot instead of staring at my blinking cursor. For some months. And I revitalized. My writer’s subconscious stored and created new ideas, the more I filled it with other activities, it happened that my creative spark ignited. I felt ready. I sat down, but the words still wouldn’t come. But I knew I had to connect to the written word somehow. So I read anything that gave me comfort in plain, easy language. Books, tutorials, text-based RPGs. All of a sudden I felt: I can and I want to do this too. All I had to do was remind my body of the mechanics of writing. I copied stuff, I paraphrased it, without even thinking of being original. I gave my muse the time it needed to come back to me.

So yes, writers do write, but they do not have to be doing it all the time to be considered writers. Sometimes it’s okay to wait for the muse to visit. Now I know: Writing makes up an enormous part of who I am, but it’s not my entire identity. The next time I’m tired, uninspired, or don’t feel the urge to write — I just don’t. And I won’t feel guilty about it. The key is acceptance.