Well my dears...
I almost didn’t send a newsletter this week.
Not because I don’t care. Quite the opposite. I’ve been sitting at my desk most mornings knowing I should write something and feeling completely unable to do it. A post-holiday funk, a lingering cold, and that familiar low-grade dread that shows up after New Years (and the day after that, and the day after that...).
If that sounds familiar, you’re in good company.
January has a way of making writers feel broken. We tell ourselves we should be refreshed and motivated, ready to dive back in, and instead everything feels heavier than it did in November. The gap between what we expect of ourselves and what we actually have energy for gets very loud this time of year.
Here’s the thing I keep having to relearn: not every week is a “make progress” week.
Lately, I’ve been thinking less in terms of output and more in terms of how I’m showing up. When writing feels stuck, it’s usually because I’m trying to force myself into a mode I’m not actually in.
A simple check-in that’s helped me:
Sometimes you’re in rest mode. You don’t need a clever justification. You just need to stop pushing.
Sometimes you’re in maintenance mode. You stay loosely connected to the work. Read a little. Tinker. Open the document without demanding anything heroic.
And sometimes, rarely and beautifully, you’re in momentum mode. That’s when effort turns into flow. You can’t schedule this. You just recognize it when it shows up.
The mistake I make is trying to live in momentum mode all the time. That’s usually when I freeze.
This is also why I don’t love the idea that we need to be producing constantly to “exist” as writers. Content for content’s sake, pages for page count’s sake, progress that looks good on paper but feels hollow in practice. Taking a beat isn’t failure. Sometimes it’s the only thing you can do.
If your writing feels off right now, that doesn’t mean it’s gone. It might just be waiting for a different kind of attention.
Before I sign off, I’m curious:
What feels hardest about your writing right now? Starting? Finishing? Trusting that it’s worth coming back to?
If you feel like replying, I’d genuinely love to hear. I read every response.
Take care of yourself this week. The work will meet you where you are.
Declan Wilson
WriterGadgets.com