Top 10 Writing Obstacles

Here is my Top 10 Most Common Writing Obstacles Every Writer Faces…

Time
Finding the right time to write can be challenging. As I illustrated in my podcast titled, How to Start Writing, I discuss ways around this obstacle. Because I have a family, that comes with certain responsibilities. But one of those responsibilities is to myself. I dedicate time to write and I make it known so everyone in my family understands my schedule. I write in the morning, at lunch, and before bed. On the weekends, I set aside more time, when feasible, before life complicates things and steals that time away. I try on average to write 1500 good words a day.

Family Commitments
Much like the obstacles presented with my kids, running a family has its own challenges. Just the daily hustle of running the house is enough to wear down those with thick skin. But somehow through all the commitments and promises I find time enough to write. I steal the time away in little bits and pieces. Ten minutes here, thirty minutes there, and if I’m lucky I can get an hour or so before bed and maybe more on the weekends. It’s tough. There’s no doubt about that, but I end up finding time. Sometimes I end up robbing Peter to pay Paul to do it.

Work
Work is inevitable. It has to be done. Like many, I have a primary career. It pays the bills, puts food on the table, keeps the lights on in the house. Most of my day is consumed by my occupation which at times seeps into my evenings and weekends. So, how do I manage a house, kids, work, and still find time to write? I look for off-hour spare time. Let me explain.

After I wake and get ready for the day, I get the kids fed and prepared for school. I have a forty-five minute window of time to write before work starts. During lunch, I eat something quick and squeeze another hour of writing in. After work and sometime after dinner when my time isn’t taken up by my kid’s sports or homework, I steal away thirty minutes to an hour before bed to write.

If I add that free time up, it adds up to around two to three hours a day. Now, mind you, it isn’t all in one large chunk, but free time is writing time. I take what I can get. As my kids used to say when they were younger: you get what you get and don’t have a fit. 🙂

Quiet Space
When I sit down to write, I like to have a quiet space. Some people find it beneficial and even invigorating to listen to music while they write. Not me. I am not sure if it is unfortunate or not, but I find the background noise distracting. I like to concentrate on my thoughts and talk to myself inside my head, although at times it does spill out through my lips.

So, where is this quiet space? I have a couple favorite spots. One of them is in my furnished basement. I sit on the couch with my feet up on a footstool and I write. Often I am drinking something. Sometimes it is a morning coffee. Other times it is water or an occasional diet cola. When I’m feeling pumped, I grab an energy drink. Another place I enjoy writing is at my local library. I steal a seat next to the fireplace in my favorite chair and chill out.

Children
As I said earlier, I have a family with kids. I get them ready for school, I make their breakfast, when they get home I sometimes help them with their homework before I start making dinner. Let’s face it, kids are great, but they drain my time. My children play sports so, in the evenings I also have games to attend. It doesn’t stop on the weekends either. We travel for their sports and it sometimes swallows the majority of my time on one or both weekend days.

As I discussed in my podcast titled, How to Start Writing, I use my phone for a lot of initial planning. To begin with, I use my phone to hold ideas, notes, and story pieces as I am trying to make initial sense of the overall story. Later I use a journal, but eventually return back to the phone. Since I use my phone to craft the beginning elements of my story, I can literally write anywhere. I don’t need to worry at this point of carrying around my pen and journal. Whether I am at the library, waiting in line at the grocery store, or have some downtime at home, I can always jot down a quick note on my phone.

Distractions
With each new bell and whistle on our phones and computers, our society is becoming more and more ADD. As new notifications pop up, we’re programmed by social media to answer those calls immediately. What did we do before social media, before smart phones, and before the internet? We sat and read or we talked to each other. Because my time is so limited already without jamming in the chimes and whistles of social media and email, when I sit down to write, I unplug. Unless it is an emergency, I don’t respond to anything. I write. I research. I edit. I read. All the busy work created by email and text messaging and social media goes by the wayside until I am done. Then and only then do I plug back into the world and reconnect to the bells and whistles.

Writing Burn-Out
I’ve talked before about burnout in my podcast titled, First Drafts. I’ve mentioned previously about two of the most important things to do as a writer. The first one is to write. I write as much as I can. When I’m done writing the first draft of a new piece, I sometimes start writing a new project. Or I start editing a previous project that’s already been sitting on the shelf for a few months.

I said in a previous podcast that I usually finish the first draft of a new novel in about three to four months. If I’ve just shelved a newly finished piece, that’s the perfect time to start editing a previously written novel with fresh eyes. It is a continually revolving cycle of finished drafts and new edits.

Alright, what if I’m tired of writing and I want a break? Then I do the second most important thing for an author. That is to read. I read other author’s books, of course. Sometimes I stay within my own genre and sometimes I don’t. But it’s important to continually read. What about audiobooks? That’s an acceptable option also. I have a large collection of audiobooks.

Writer’s Block or Blank Page Syndrome
In a podcast titled, How to Write, I discussed this very topic. Sometimes I find myself at a loss for words. While I’ve never been afflicted with writer’s block, I am subject to the ebb and flow of writing. There have been times where I stare at the page wondering what to write next. How I’ve gotten around those sticky situations has been by returning to two simple questions. What-if and what next? That’s what I ask myself. What happens next? If I come up dry, I ask myself what-if? Asking these questions opens up the door to possibilities. What-if this happens? What if that happens? Sometimes coming up with a what-if requires me to re-write a previous scene, but if it makes the piece better then I’ve improved the story and that’s a good thing.

Sometimes my writing leads me into an area of uncertainty. What if the story leads me to a topic that I’m not familiar with? That’s where research comes in. I write what I know and research what I don’t. There’s an idiom in the writing community which is ‘write what you know’. I feel that that advise is only good so far. And that’s where research comes in to the fold. When you don’t know, research, research, research.

Taking a thought thread to a Dead End conclusion
What do I do when I take a thought thread to its foregone conclusion? What if at the tail end of my thoughts, I come to a dead end? Then what? This can be a bit of a tricky situation. If I’ve exhausted all my brain cells, where do I turn? There are a few places to start. The first one is the internet. I pull open my favorite web browser and start searching. If I don’t come up with anything satisfactory, I turn to my second option. Artificial Intelligence. I open ChatGPT or other app and begin to query what-ifs relating to my initial question. If that option bears no fruit, then I query the most beneficial source of information. Humans. I reach out to a colleague or even to college academia and inquire if my question or theory has merit. Sometimes it comes down to the fact that an idea has no good ending and that that thought thread should simply die on the vine. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happens. I have to bite the bullet and think of a new and different idea.

General procrastination
Like many people, I procrastinate from time to time. Sometimes I just want to blow off steam or sit and veg. Luckily enough, I am not afflicted with the procrastination bug too often. And when I do feel the urge to vegetate, it is a passing fancy. Because much of what I do is on my phone, the reminder to do something important isn’t far away so, I tend to veer back on track soon after I’ve gone off the reservation.

Thank you for joining me as I explored my writing journey. Continue reviewing my blogs and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter where I share writing topics, behind-the-scene details, and members-only content. Remember to go over to my media page to watch my podcasts and learn additional content or view them on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. Like and subscribe for more content.