I Hate Writing But I am Still Compelled to Do It

Hate writing?

Here are some tips.

I was listening to a Dan Harris Ten Percent Happier podcast yesterday and he said this, “I hate writing but I am still compelled to do it.” I thought I had some things to say which might ease the pain of writing.

If you hate writing you must have some roadblocks that are not serving you because you “want” to write.

The wanting to write is an urge inside to express yourself. You have things to say, you want to shuffle out these things and express them in a way that is true to yourself. But it can be scary to attempt this because you might be afraid you don’t have the skill to translate these thoughts to words on the page and what if you write crap? Well here are three things you might look at to help you stop hating writing.

1. Lower your expectations.

You might feel that it is a waste of time and energy to write crap and you want to spit it all out perfectly so you feel like you are moving towards completing your book. Try fast writing to just get the words down on the page without any censure. Do not edit, do not question what you are writing, do not cringe at what comes out. If you are mindful, you can get rid of this judgmental critical voice. It just gets in the way. Tomorrow you can edit.

2. Do pomodoros.

Most writers have resistance to sitting down to write. Steven Pressfield in War of Art says, “There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.” So a trick I learned to get over this resistance is to use pomodoros. These are 35 minute, timed chunks of time that I use to get me started. I set the timer and write. It is easier to get started when I think I only have to focus for 35 minutes. I think..I can handle that. When the timer goes off, I stop, and spend five minutes meditating, doing yoga, stepping outside to smell the pines or feel the sun. This freshens the page with new perspectives. Then I go back and do another 35 minute chunk.

3. Use momentum to your advantage.

As Isaac Newton says, “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion.” Write every day. This keeps your skills fresh and makes it easier to start the next day. It gives you momentum. You can start your session editing what you wrote the day before and then add new material. Even if it is just one Pomodoro a day, do it consistently. This is a huge help to getting over the “hating part” of writing. Writing in a daily journal is also helpful to keep up your skills and your momentum. You can spill all your troubling, inspiring, and mundane thoughts on the page and practice no judgement on your writing skill. It is can also serve as a form of warming up and clearing your mind to be ready for your project. Do one typed or written page in your journal and save it with the date. It’s fun to look back a year later and see where you were and how far you have come.

When it comes right down to it.

I love writing.