Write Out of a Rut

We’ve all been there.

Where the words are sluggish, the momentum is plateau-ing and the sameness of our writing is slowly, but surely, driving us to anti-depressants and lunacy. We’ve all been at that dreaded stage in our writing where we have seriously questioned our life choices and contemplated hara-kiri by pen.

I’m talking about the hell known as The Writer’s Rut.

Finding ourselves in this well-worn groove drives cold stakes into our hearts because as writers we pride ourselves on having left boring and unimaginative thousands of words ago. So what, we ask our suddenly insecure selves, are we doing in this No Man’s Land of paralyzed creativity?

We could be fizzling in burnout. Or maybe it’s just fallow time. Or maybe, just maybe, we’re taking some time to gather our strength before we unleash our glorious masterpiece upon a world waiting with bated breath. We hope.

The point is we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we find ourselves in a writing rut. We should forgive ourselves for slipping into it and trust that we can find our way back to the Land of Unfettered Imagination and Originality.

Because ve haf vayz:

1) Honour Your Rhythms
One way of getting through writer’s rut is to understand your creative cycle. Every writer goes through a period of high productivity followed by a period of minimal productivity. Writing is demanding work. It is not fair to expect continuous, sustained brilliant output from yourself. A rut can be a signal to the writer that they need to give the writing a break and nurse their carpal tunnel syndrome in peace.

2) Switch Genres
If you write fiction, try your hand at poetry. If you write poetry, try memoir for a bit. Sometimes, it helps to try a different genre of writing to break the monotony of having to always think in a particular style. You may discover the poetry in prose or a new way of channeling memory by attempting memoir. It can free your writing from the stranglehold of banality.

3) Change Place
Sitting at the same desk staring at the same scene outside your window with the same mug of coffee at your elbow can be blah. I find that it helps me break out of a rut when I change my venue of writing every couple of weeks. I deliberately seek out new places to write: bookstore cafes, rooftops, park benches, car, closet, you get the drift. Every place has its own energy and perspective. The same scene can give a different viewpoint from a rooftop and a different angle from the parking lot. Change of place can break the tedium and inject vitality into your writing.

4) Change Ritual
We all have our ways of approaching our writing. I make hot chocolate. I read the news. I check Facebook, Twitter, Google+. I plan my writing. I think about it. I plan some more. This is what I do every. single. day. Is it any wonder that some days I go off the deep end and strut about in the vampire cloak that I wear on Halloween? And you know what? It helps. Changing your writing ritual operates on the same philosophy as changing your writing place. It breaks the dullness of routine which can provide the much needed jolt to creativity.

5) Take Risks
A lot of times writers find themselves in a rut because they’re afraid to take risks with their work. We become so attached to our style that we worry our experimentation will mar the quality or integrity of our work. Rut Alert! Take risks not just with the way you write but also in your life. I’m not advocating foolhardiness. I’m advocating living – truly, madly, deeply. Day in, day out word-struggling at the desk can blunt creativity in the best of us. The passion, the edginess, the excitement that draws us to wrestle with words can become diffused. Experimenting in our writing and in our lives can spark creativity.

6) Read
Sometimes all that is needed to break out of a rut is exposing ourselves to another writer’s words. It can be a learning experience to read the masters of our craft and inspiring to read our contemporaries. Faced with stagnant creativity, I almost always turn to a good book. It can act as a trigger for new ideas, nourishment for my writing-weary self, a study in technique and most of all, a renewal of the desire to write, come what may.

Hope you find this useful. Let me know 🙂 Until next week!