I have a confession: My novel-in-progress is gathering dust. I’m so close to a complete first draft, and for so long I was really in a groove. But lately, life’s gotten in the way: fun family events, sickness, toddler sleep regressions, great new projects at work, laundry (always laundry). Nothing catastrophic has happened, but I just haven’t had the capacity to do any real work on it lately.
And that’s okay.
I know I’m not the only one this happens to, and if you’ve fallen out of your writing routine lately, you’re not alone, either. It happens to all of us. The good news? You don’t need to beat yourself up — and neither do I. We just need a reset. Here are four ways both you and I can get back into our creative rhythms with less guilt and more grace.
1. Reconnect with Why You Write
Before you dive back into your WIP and your word count goals, take a moment to reflect on why you write in the first place. Your reason might be wildly personal—an outlet for self-expression, a way to process the world, a desire to tell the stories only you can tell. Whatever it is, it matters.
Write it down in your journal or your notes app. Better yet, pin it up on the wall next to your writing nook. That “why” is going to be your compass on the days when you doubt yourself or when life gets loud again.
Need a little inspiration? I love Jami Attenberg’s essay “Why I Write,” which kicks off her book 1,000 Words. In it, she says:
“I write because it’s the thing I have to offer, the sharpest skill I have. I write to make people feel less alone… I write to process my shit.”
Simple, straightforward, and such a powerful reminder.
This kind of reflection also makes Morning Pages—Julia Cameron’s famous daily writing ritual—beautiful reentry point to a lagging creative practice. Cameron recommends filling three pages, longhand, first thing in the morning, as a way to clear mental clutter and reconnect with your creative self. If you’ve been away from writing for a while, try starting your day with a few pages of anything-goes journaling. It’s a low-pressure way to turn the faucet back on.
2. Set (Actually, Really) Realistic Goals
There’s no shortage of advice about how to be a “real” writer. Stephen King says you have to write 2,000 words a day. Steven Pressfield demands you show up daily, “come hell or high water.”
With all due respect to Stephen and Steven, that’s not realistic for most of us—especially those juggling parenting, caregiving, full-time jobs, and the occasional squirrel-induced crisis.
So here’s a different approach: set goals that actually make sense for your life. Look at your week—are there two or three blocks of time when you can reasonably write? Great. Put them on your calendar and protect them like they’re meetings with a friend. (Because they kind of are.)
Or go even smaller. I have one client who rebuilt her writing habit by committing to just five minutes a day. That’s it. The bar was so low that there was no good way to talk herself out of it.
Amie McNee recommends setting an absurdly small goal like this as the foundation of the two-week reset she outlines in her book, We Need Your Art. “Whatever you came up with, I’m going to stop you right there and ask you to at leasthalve it,” she says. “We want this goal to feel so beautifully doable, it would almost be embarrassing to tell someone about it.”
That’s what my client did. And more often than not, her five minutes turned into fifteen or thirty. Start small, and watch the momentum build.
3. Don’t Go It Alone
For many writers (myself included), accountability is what turns good intentions into real results. You can have all the best goals and all the right tools, but if no one’s expecting you to show up, it’s too easy to push writing to the bottom of the list.
Enter: your accountability buddy.
This could be a friend who checks in weekly, a critique partner who’s expecting new pages, a writing group that meets regularly, or a coach who helps keep you focused and motivated. Just knowing someone else is cheering for you—and maybe even counting on you—can make all the difference.
Writing feels solitary, but you don’t have to do it alone. One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself when resetting your creative habits is finding your people: folks who understand what you’re trying to do (and what you’re up against) and who will help you keep going when things get hard.
4. Have Compassion for Your Creative Self
If you take nothing else from this post, take this: Please give yourself grace.
In her book Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin writes:
“People who feel less guilt and who show compassion toward themselves in the face of failure are better able to regain self-control, while people who feel deeply guilty and full of self-blame struggle more.”
You haven’t failed because you haven’t written in a while. You’ve simply hit a pause. And all you have to do is press “play.”
Rubin also offers a helpful reframe: “A stumble doesn’t mean total failure. In fact, a stumble may be helpful, because it shows me where I need to concentrate my efforts in order to do better next time.”
So when you’re looking back at your recent dry spell, try viewing it as quality control. You’re learning more about what doesn’t work so you can build habits that do.
Whether you’ve been away from the page for weeks, months, or years, it’s not too late. You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re just ready for a reset.