5 Minutes from Unstuck to Writing Your Book

For many creatives I know, the deluge of inspiration does happen, but the sledging forward one word at a time often seems more the truth. The issue, at least one of them, is not the actual writing, but the sheer magnitude of the project. Standing at the foot of an uphill battle, which in this case proves every stage, covers us in overwhelming shadows of doubt, frustration, fear, and a myriad other emotions. So much so it becomes daunting to start, continue, and finish.

When you really sit down and consider what goes into writing a book, let alone promoting one, the amount of effort involved should send any sane person fleeing. Yet, here we are, slaves to our craft, masochists willing to push ourselves again and again. Not unlike the thousands of athletes out there signing up for marathons each year. 

Friends who’ve crossed the finish line tell me that you don’t run a marathon by legging 26 miles, but with a million little steps. Jessica, who happily endures such events told me that it’s all about setting small goals. “I’ll run from here to the trashcan. Then I’ll run from the trashcan to the light post. And so on.”

At times, when I’m writing, it’ll feel like I’m exhausting all my mental endurance, but nothing moves on the page. I’ve had my fair share of these in the past. Not so much any more once I started reframing how I come to the chair. Taking Jessica’s perspective on racing, I’ve broken down my approach to the smallest increment possible. And I have to say, this has made a huge difference in my productivity.

Whenever I find my writing thick with resistance, I set the timer on my phone for five minutes and pick a paragraph that needs help. For that short time, I focus only on making those sentences the best I can. I worry about nothing else.  Some days I need the full five. Others, I end up rereading the same lines over and over with little change. Either way, that paragraph moves forward, and somehow so does the book.

Try this the next time you find yourself struggling and see how it goes. 

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