How I Write Without Stress // Letting Go of Expectations

Writing can be a very stressful thing.

But only if you let it be.

Over the past few months, I have let writing stop stressing me out. I don’t know if anyone else has struggled with overwhelming feelings regarding writing, but if you have, this post is for you! And if you haven’t…feel free to stick around and read this anyway. 😉

I am going to preface this post by saying that I love writing. Someday, I hope to be a published author. I want to have success in the writing world- it’s always been a dream of mine.

But I’m still really young. Though there are plenty of young authors, and I think that is really cool can I be like them please, my time is definitely not up. I have the rest!! of!! my!! life!! to work towards publication. So, when I found myself getting really stressed out by writing, I had to take a step back.

I’m surrounded by a world of writers who are acting now. Everyone where I look I see so much about NaNoWriMo (which I want to participate in someday, don’t get me wrong), people plotting, and SO MUCH EVERYWHERE.

I wish I could do all that. I really do. But the truth is, between school and dance and life, I just don’t have the time. I don’t let writing stress me out, and today I’ll share my best tips for how to write without any stress.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

It is hard, I know. Sometime it seems impossible.

It’s almost as if our minds are made to constantly compare ourselves to others, but that isn’t the case. I think. From my experience, it’s not something you can stop doing completely. However, you can limit your comparisons a little.

• Instead of: “How are they so perfect at writing.” // Think: “That’s so great they can do that!”
• Instead of: “How can they do that and school and life?!” // Think: “Maybe someday I’ll be able to juggle all that, too.”
• Instead of: “My writing is horrible compared to this.” // Think: “What can I learn from this to make mine better?”

The truth is, all comparing brings is a whole lot of stress, and a whole lot of thinking that you don’t measure up. And that’s just so untrue!

Slow down if you’re not ready for a big step right now.

I’ve wanted to do NaNoWriMo for a long time now.

Every year, I consider it. One year I even signed up. It’s a goal that I’m hoping to someday reach, even if it takes me a while to be ready for it.

I want to do it. I want to write, I want to finish a novel, I want to be a part of that. But, I also know that now is not the time. I’m in school. I have dance. My life is so crazy, there’s no way I’d have time for that.

i’m feeling the full house gifs today

It’s a little sad, because I’d like to do it. There would be too much on my plate, though. Sometimes to get rid of stress, you have to slow down a little and wait to take bigger steps later.

Take a step away.

If writing is getting overwhelming to the point where you no longer enjoy it, that is a flashing red sign of BACKAWAYBACKAWAYYY.

You don’t want writing to become a chore! It may be time to take a small break and give your mind a chance to refresh. Go eat some cake. Or ice cream. Binge watch a Netflix series, read a good book, get outside.

eating ice cream is the best choice, obviously

Take a break before writing becomes just another thing on your to-do list.

Change things up.

It could be that writing is stressful because you’re doing it the same way every second of every minute of every hour of every day. That was fun to write. 

Change from writing on Word to writing on Google drive. Handwrite instead of type. Write poetry, use writing prompts, write a story with a friend.

Just do things different than you normally do, and maybe it’ll take off some of the pressure and help you relax a little more, and write a little easier.

Remember that writing is supposed to be fun.

At the end of the day, always remember that writing is fun. 🙂

It’s supposed to make you feel better! Give you a purpose! Give you a reason to smile on a rainy day! If it’s stressing out, really look at why. Because for most of us (unless you’re an author in which case WOW THAT IS SO COOL) writing is a hobby, and hobbies should never be something we dread or worry about.

The final point I’m going to make in this post is that sometimes you just need to let go of your expectations.

What I don’t mean by this is that you should let go of your goals and dreams. No! I don’t think I’ll ever let go of my dream of being an author, and I know I’ll never stop working for it. What I mean is that it’s important to not get overwhelmed by what your path should look like.

Don’t tell yourself:

• You should have better ideas.
• You should be doing NaNoWriMo this year.
• You should be giving up this or that to have more time for writing.
• You should be plotting and making a story! Because that’s what everyone else is doing!

It’s your journey. It’s your writing, and it’s going to look different from everyone else’s. So why worry about how it should be looking, instead of focusing on what it really is? 😉

I hope you enjoyed this different and dicussion-y post! I know that I enjoyed writing, and getting my thoughts out. 🙂

Does this apply to you? Are you super focused and writing comes easier, or do you stress out about it like me? Was this post helpful to you? Let’s chat in the comments!

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash << Credits for the amazingly amazing picture I used in my featured image!