What if — and I’m only suggesting it’s possible — you’re making writing harder than it needs to be?
We see it all the time:
- People who happily crank out blog posts tie themselves in knots over writing a book. Why? Because writing a book is supposed to be difficult. It’s a big endeavor. They struggle because they assume they should struggle, that it’s part of the package.
- People claim they’re not “real writers” despite spending careers being paid to write about complicated and difficult subjects, because they’re not working on novels, or poems, or other projects that feel difficult to them.
Consciously or not, may of us feel that if something comes easily, it’s probably not worthwhile. That’s a flawed premise, and it gets in our way.
We also hold ourselves back in other, more insidious ways—disregarding good ideas, insisting on writing the ‘hard’ part first, not moving on until we’ve perfected something.
Writing well requires effort, but increasing the struggle doesn’t always improve the quality measurably.
Writing on Easy Mode
What does writing look like when it’s easy (or easier)?
I drafted this post on a Sunday afternoon, sitting at my kitchen counter, because the urge to write it down came to me while I was doing housework. I chose to create that rough first draft while it was fresh, rather than adding it to a list of future projects. Pulling out the laptop and typing, right then, was the easiest path to the first draft.
Of course, it had been simmering in my head for a few weeks, so it was ready to write. That’s another factor that made this post “easy.”
Sure, I returned to clean it up, polish it, find a graphic. So yes, I worked on it, but honestly, it was fun. Because I started early (weeks before publication), I could do it when I felt like it.
This is how I want to approach my writing. More joy. More absorption. Less worry and list-making. How about you?
You might find a few hints in my short story about how to make your own writing easier:
- Let good ideas incubate.
- When they are ready, write them down rather than adding them to a list.
- Commit to an ugly, incomplete early draft, then polish and revise. (Break the writing process into its component phases.)
- Give yourself plenty of time so you bring the right mindset to the different phases.
- Try to enjoy the whole thing.
When we approach the writing process this way, everything becomes easier. If you’ve read The Writer’s Process, you’ll be familiar with the concept.
Even so, in a world that worships discipline and “founder mode” and hustle, we need reminders to stop glorifying struggle.
The easy-going author
How about writing books, you ask? Surely that’s a difficult slog?
At times it may feel like a slog, but at other times, it feels joyful and fulfilling, like solving a challenging puzzle.
I can tell you many stories of people who have written books without getting up at 5am or forgetting what their families look like. My coaching clients have written books while running businesses, raising children, and living full lives.
Was it easy for them? Not exactly. But, it wasn’t grueling, either. They adjusted their priorities and found a sustainable pace.
Easy or not, show up
Lest you think this “Easy Mode” lets you off the hook entirely, not so! Even when your writing gears are engaged, the hard part usually isn’t the writing. It’s clearing the space for the writing. It’s showing up.
“Easy” doesn’t mean not thinking about your writing, or not sitting down to work on it. Easy still requires effort. That’s the tricky part for many people: showing up.
Don’t wait until you know exactly what you’re going to write. Just open the page, welcome the Muse. Visit your writing every day, or most days. Even if you only have a 15-minute window. Even if you only have 5 minutes.
Showing up with the work sets the background process (your Muse) to work on the writing. It gives the Muse a chance to pitch in, generating fresh fodder. You might explore your writing projects in a “morning pages” journal. See what happens.
(While I started this post at the kitchen counter, I completed the first draft after writing in my morning pages journal a few days later—while thinking about how to finish a different post. That’s how my Muse work—lobbing in ideas for unrelated projects.)
What does easy look like for you?
What does a sustainable, fulfilling writing life look like for you? And how much of that can you tuck into your current life?
Perhaps you don’t have a lot of extra room—what if you treat yourself to 30-60 minutes of time to write the things you most feel like writing when you can?
One client told me that when she enjoys working on her book when she’s writing, but she was struggling to fit it into a busy life and carried a lot of guilt about it. I suggested that instead of thinking of the book as yet another a task to get to, she considered it a kind of essential self-care and personal fulfillment. Perhaps this will help her make more room for it.
We need structure, but that structure must fit our lives. In a life that flexes and bends with unpredictable demands, a too-rigid structure will break.
What if you find an easy path to your writing goals? Not simple or trivial. It will be work, yes. Sometimes it will feel challenging—you get to decide how to feel about that.
But you don’t have to choose the most difficult trail up the mountain, if you’ll end up at the peak either way.
More about Easy Mode
If this interests you, check out the book I wrote on the topic, The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear.
For hands-on exercises on your writing process, see The Writer’s Process Workbook. Or combine the workbook with a short course on intentional incubation.
