Hope for a Writerly Existential Crisis

If you've reached a point in your writing life where you dread sitting down at your laptop, you're not alone. 

If you've found yourself questioning if you're writing the right thing or wasting your time and resources, we've been there. 

If you're wondering if you can even call yourself Writer anymore if Procrastinator, Second-Guesser, and Impostor seem like more appropriate titles, even the New York Times bestsellers have felt that way.

Let's do a little heart work today. In your favorite journal, the comments of this post, or even a clear corner of your mind, let's start with this question:

What does low maintenance, joyful, sustainable writing look like for you? 
What do you need to do to get there?

I wish we had a blog post with the perfect answer for you, the secret formula to clear, productive writing regardless of inspiration, mood, or energy levels. 

If we told you that, you might focus more on the doing than the being.

But we do have some reminders as you work through this question:

• A little bit of progress in regular intervals really adds up.
  
• Writing is like a muscle that needs exercise and gets easier with repetition.
  
• If you're called to be a writer, it may look different in different seasons. Sometimes it might even be just for your own eyes, but every. single. word serves a purpose.
  
• When trying to redefine your writing life, *WHY* you write is more important than *WHAT* you write.
  
• If you wait for the energy burst, the whiff of inspiration, or the right mood to start writing, it may never come. You create the energy, the inspiration, and the mood by writing scared, writing often, and writing anyway. 

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Laurie Tomlinson is the award-winning contemporary romance author of That’s When I Knew, With No Reservations, and The Long Game, currently featured in the Once Upon a Laugh novella collection. She believes that God’s love is unfailing, anything can be accomplished with a good to-do list, and that life should be celebrated with cupcakes and extra sprinkles.

You can connect with her on her Website, Facebook, and Instagram.