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

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

Why do writers feel guilty for not writing

When you are just a new writer, others will always expect you to write every day 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 every day create pressure that discourages you from writing and causes you to be unproductive as a writer.

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

Because if you have a mindset of writing every day, while it is good for you to become consistent, it can lead to burnout, which can have a bad effect on your relationship with 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 flowing 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 in front of my desk and try to type with my fingertips, it seems that I can’t think of any topic that I should write about.

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

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

Tips to overcome the guilt of not writing

When everyone has their own way of avoiding the guilt, here 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 when 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 every day, 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 for the guilt and still call yourself productive.

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

Schedule intentional breaks

By setting break times during your writing schedule is an important way to think of more words or phrases 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 the 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 and avoid the guilt such as:

Build a writing routine

I talked 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 treat writing as a chore but a responsibility (while having fun) so it will become a habit.

I have a 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 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 every day, 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 are a lot of writers in the world so you shouldn’t feel alone. Joining different online communities will help you to avoid feeling guilty.

By joining online communities, you can always share your struggles and successes with your audience which then give you feedback. It actually helps you, (at some point) because they can give you an idea of 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 with 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 with the struggle of guilt and what are the actionable tips that you can do to overcome it?

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