Unpopular opinion: 'Write every day' prompts killed my creativity

I burned out trying to force stories. Taking breaks actually made my writing better.

3 comments

3 Comments

Totally get that about burning out from forcing stories. Pushing myself to create on a strict schedule just makes me freeze up sometimes. It's like the pressure turns the whole thing into a chore instead of something fun. I've found stepping away for a bit lets ideas actually build up again on their own. What kind of breaks work best for you when you hit that wall?

annaw732mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly I had the exact opposite thing happen last month with a Tuesday deadline. Tbh forcing myself to sit there for two extra hours to just get words down actually broke the freeze. For me, stepping away lets the dread build up even more. It feels like the pressure of the schedule is the only thing that gets my brain to finally click. So I guess my break is just grinding through the bad stuff until it starts flowing.

kevin_west2mo ago

Read something about "productive procrastination." Basically doing a different creative task to trick your brain. Works for me sometimes. Like sketching instead of writing.