It is quite ironic that I am writing this because I recently published a post about writer's block where I mentioned and discuss about how to overcome it.

But here I am right now talking about guilt of not writing because I just don't feel like writing today and so I still try to compensate the guilt by writing this blog post and use this opportunity to reflect and think how to overcome the situation.

Why writers feel guilt by not writing

When you are just a new writer, others will always expect you to write everyday because people always say that writing should be consistent and you should always be publishing posts.

Some people will say that you can't be a writer if you are not consistent, while consistency is the key to success, you should still take a rest and avoid burnout.

The unrealistic expectations of posting everyday creates a pressure that discourages you to write and causes being unproductive as a writer.

This belief shouldn't be tolerated, but instead, it should be balanced and applied correctly.

Because if you will have a mindset of writing everyday, while it is good for you to become consistent, it can lead to burn out that will cause a bad effect with your relationship to writing.

So, how to reframe your mindset and avoid this?

Having a mindset of feeling stuck in writing doesn't help. Remember that writing is not a race, you should get your creativity flows into your mind and let your fingertips type and write for you.

It is not bad to take a break, just like muscles where it needs to have a rest day after going to the gym for 4 consecutive days. Our mind is the same, let your mind rest because taking a rest isn't bad. It is a part of writing.

Sometimes it is normal that you can't write anything and you can't get anything from your creative juices.

If you can, go ahead and walk outside. Letting go of perfectionism will help you to overcome this kind of habit and you will notice the result until you achieve it.

For example, I mostly write in the morning. But today when I sit on my desk and try to type with my fingertips, it seems that I can't think of any topic that I should write.

I tried to eat, drink a coffee, and still nothing.

Hence, I stopped, and then I did other personal stuff until I find my motivation again to write and here I am still writing until now. I didn't notice that I am almost at 500 words.

Tips to overcome the guilt of not writing

When everyone has their own way to avoid the guilt, here are are the things that I usually do when I don't feel anything to write while feeling the guilt.

Start small

Start by having your own writing schedule routine. Try to set a day where you should write and then a specific time so you can frame your body to write in that schedule. When you've done this routine everyday, you will notice that your body will automatically find writing and turn it into a habit.

You can start doing or writing short form content instead of writing long form content so you can compensate the guilt and still call yourself as productive.

I mostly use InLeo, Snaps, and X to write short form content. Sometimes I also look for topic ideas in these platforms for example this topic was inspired by @bradleyarrow after having a conversation with him through threads.

Schedule intentional breaks

By setting breaktimes during your writing schedule is an important way to think of more words or phrase that will help to improve your content.

Set an intentional break that will allow you to rest your mind until you write again.

Sometimes, I use pomodoro technique. I set a 5-minute break after writing for about 20 to 30 minutes so I can still write more. However, it is important to note that setting a long time for your break isn't recommended — at least for me — because it stops my momentum to write.

Track your progress

Tracking your progress is necessary so you have something to look forward to while having your writing journey. I always do this by documenting my stats and the word count of my love articles.

Recently, I have been writing so many words in one single post, which is a lot and higher than before where I can only write 300 to 500 words.

By this, you will be motivated when you see your progress and try to reach more of your goal.

Lack of structure can cause inconsistent writing

Writing is not only about writing. It's like life where you have to plan everything to become successful. So having a concrete plan can help you to become an outstanding writer and prevent yourself from feeling the guilt.

There are ways that you can do to become consistent avoid the guilt such as:

Build a writing routine

I talked that about this, you should start having a writing routine and schedule so you can reframe yourself from writing.

One of the best things that you can do is to not to treat writing as a chores but a responsibility (while having fun) so it will become a habit.

I have separate blog post about this that you can read HERE.

Start a journal

Writing starts having a journal.

If you don't find the writing fun at least start a journal to document your life. Writing doesn't mean publishing it online it can be private and written on the paper.

Start documenting your life by starting a journal, then notice the positive changes in your life. Squeeze those creative juices from your mind and let your ideas flow.

Be kind to yourself

As I mentioned writing is like going to a gym you have to squeeze those creative juices and yet you have to take a rest.

Do not force yourself to write everyday, but instead take a break and learn to take a rest this will help you to avoid burnout that will only cause unproductivity.

The importance of joining in the communities

There's a lot of writers in the world so you shouldn't feel alone. Joining different online communities will help you to avoid feeling the guilt.

By joining online communities, you can always share your struggles and successes into your audience and that then give you feedback. It actually helps you, (at some point) because they can give you an idea on what you should do when you are struggling.

For example, I mentioned earlier that I was thinking of not writing today because of writer's block but then I posted a thread on InLeo and then a friend of mine commented. And then from the thread, I came up into the idea of writing something about the guilt of not writing.

Having a buddy as a writer can help you to reduce the guilt and isolation by sharing each other's experiences. It will also help you to stay on track during your writing journey.

Conclusion

Turning guilt into growth is just simple. You just need to be kind to yourself by writing at your own pace. You don't have to compare your stats to others. What you need is to follow your own schedule and routine.

Guilt is normal, but it doesn't define who you are as a writer.

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Share your own stories when you experience guilt in your writing journey. How did you cope up into the struggle of guilt and what are the actionable tips that you can do to overcome it?

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All images are made and designed by the author using Canva. This is also published on my website that will serve as a medium to invite more users on Hive.