What’s the line by Marie Kondo about chucking things that don’t bring you joy? I haven’t watched her show, but I’ve heard it paraphrased enough times to get the gist. That’s not only a good home organization philosophy, but just one to follow in life in general.
I was recently trying to force my way through a story I could visualize in my mind, but for which the words hadn’t yet come to me. But this was the story I’d decided I was working on, I KNOW what it looks like, so why can’t I WRITE what I know happens? After a week or two I realized this story just was not bringing me joy.
But I didn’t chuck it. I know there’s a good story buried in there, but I was killing myself trying to make it appear on the page. So I took a step back and rethought my approach.
See, I’ve got like 90 minutes before work in which to write every morning, which isn’t a lot of time when you’re in the groove and the words are flowing, and I didn’t want to waste that time staring at the screen trying to decide which words went where. I wanted to write SOMETHING, but it obviously was not going to be this story.
At least, not every day.
So I came up with a plan, one that, if it worked, would bring me a joy I’d been missing in the work. Instead of banging my head against the wall trying to make this story work itself into some kind of usable shape, I decided to work on several things, knowing that, at some point, at least one of them, work come together.
Sunday is always newsletter day for me. It’s the one day I know I’ll have off and can dedicate the time to such an involved piece of writing. Monday is my short writing day, the day I go in to work earlier than usual, so I wanted something that could be quick and easy. So I made Monday blog day, the day I write things like this.
On Tuesday we’re back to my regular writing schedule, but instead of jumping back into that story that’s not working, I ease myself into the seat instead with a short story. On Wednesday, though, it’s back to work. I’ve worked out those writing muscles on Monday and Tuesday, and now it’s time to get serious and tackle this other project. And I have to say, for the past two weeks, it’s been working. I’ve been getting other writing done throughout the week, so I’m feeling accomplished, and it’s allowed me to look at this other story without so much pressure on the words those days. And guess what, the words have been coming.
And then, just when the getting’s good, I stop and turn toward other things, namely two different novels that I work on on Thursday and Friday, then on Saturday I try to do a review of some kind.
This routine brings me joy. And that’s the word of the day here. I’ve had a lot of jobs and many of them have paid WAY better than writing ever did, but for all those jobs, as much as I didn’t mind some of them, none of them, not one, has ever brought me the kind of joy that writing does. Even when the words aren’t coming or the plot is a mess, the act of creation makes me the happiest I’ve ever been outside of holding onto my wife.
Ray Bradbury said, “may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” He was a man who found joy in the work.
If the work isn’t making you happy, if you find no joy in the act of sitting down and making up a story, then stop doing it. Writing is work, yes, but it’s one of those jobs that’s not supposed to feel like a job. If you sit down every day, begrudgingly, and force words onto the page, the reader is going to know it and they’ll find no joy in reading your work. You’ve written a miserable story and, in the process, made readers miserable when they try to wade through the mess you’ve created.
If the work isn’t making you happy, then stop doing it.
And, in stopping, ask yourself what it is. Is it the writing itself? Has the process lost its luster? Chances are it’s just the story, whatever you’re working on. I don’t know many writers who one day just fall out of love with writing. Writing is a CALLING, it’s something a select number of people don’t just do because it seemed like a good time; writing is something most of us HAVE to do. If you don’t believe me, ask the loved ones of a Writer who hasn’t written in a week. We’re no fun to be around when life comes in and takes up all of our writing time.
So if you find you’re not having fun writing anymore, take a look at the story, because that’s probably where the problem lies. The solution? Just write something else. Write something fun. Write something you’ve always wanted to write but would never let yourself take the time to work on. No one said you had to start and finish that 10-book epic you’ve been thinking about for the last 20 years. But there’s no harm in writing the first chapter. And this has the added bonus, on top of you’ve just written something you had fun writing, but now, when you think about that series the next time, hey, you have the first chapter written.
There’s no shame at all in abandoning a story that isn’t bringing you joy. God knows there are struggles enough with this job, we don’t need to add to them by insisting on powering through on something that just isn’t working. And remember, if there’s no joy in the writing, there won’t be any in the reading. Just, for five seconds, don’t think about how to market it, don’t think about what the cover’s going to look like. Shut out everything else, and just write something that makes you happy. And, I guarantee, in rediscovering the joy in writing, it’ll be easier for you to write something that brings you—and your readers—joy.