I totally feel this!! I'm starting to realize I go through these regular phases of being very excited to write and submit and then feeling like I have no ideas and will never write again. So far what I've found works for me is to just completely give in to those difficult times and step completely away from everything. The more I lean in to "I'm just going to play video games all day and never write again," the faster I seem to be able to turn things around.
I think not self-rejecting is so tough and I love your reminder. I feel like it has gotten easier for me the more practice I get. Plus just not putting a lot of weight on everything I do -- there's always more where that came from, so might as well shit this out and move on to the next. If I want to revisit or rewrite later, I can always do that.
And with Substack, even though I do a post every single week -- I know some of them are not going to be my best work, and that's okay. I'm really proud of some of the posts, some of them I couldn't give a shit less about. Some days I am dragging myself to the page but when I put something together and hit "Publish" I always end up feeling a bit better.
Can't wait to read more of your drafts very soon! And also please write all 3 of the ideas you mentioned because I want to read all of them!!
Yes Kelley! I'm constantly trying to find the line of, "This is not the only thing I'll ever publish, it just needs to get out there in the world." and, "I want this to be as good as it can be." They can't all be bangers.
I love leaning into to playing video games (for me, this looks like binging a podcast and knitting all day) and just letting yourself sit in it. That's worked well for me in the past and maybe it's time for a sit n' knit day.
I totally feel this!! I'm starting to realize I go through these regular phases of being very excited to write and submit and then feeling like I have no ideas and will never write again. So far what I've found works for me is to just completely give in to those difficult times and step completely away from everything. The more I lean in to "I'm just going to play video games all day and never write again," the faster I seem to be able to turn things around.
I think not self-rejecting is so tough and I love your reminder. I feel like it has gotten easier for me the more practice I get. Plus just not putting a lot of weight on everything I do -- there's always more where that came from, so might as well shit this out and move on to the next. If I want to revisit or rewrite later, I can always do that.
And with Substack, even though I do a post every single week -- I know some of them are not going to be my best work, and that's okay. I'm really proud of some of the posts, some of them I couldn't give a shit less about. Some days I am dragging myself to the page but when I put something together and hit "Publish" I always end up feeling a bit better.
Can't wait to read more of your drafts very soon! And also please write all 3 of the ideas you mentioned because I want to read all of them!!
Yes Kelley! I'm constantly trying to find the line of, "This is not the only thing I'll ever publish, it just needs to get out there in the world." and, "I want this to be as good as it can be." They can't all be bangers.
I love leaning into to playing video games (for me, this looks like binging a podcast and knitting all day) and just letting yourself sit in it. That's worked well for me in the past and maybe it's time for a sit n' knit day.
Love this! And wow, what a lovely picture of your self-talk phrase. I need an aesthetic one like that of mine!
Thanks Caitlin! That pic was definitely snapped on a Good Desk Day, which happens even less frequently than Good Hair Days.
Love all of this, so much! And as a fellow Minnesotan, I LOVED seeing our state get some love even if the Daily Show made fun of us 🤣
Thanks for reading, Jade! It's great to get some recognition of this part of the midwest, even with the playful teasing!