Even when your writing process is going well, creative blocks manifest in other areas of your career.
Marketing
You struggle with promoting your work.
You say “I hate marketing,” and then you either avoid it, don’t have enough creative energy left for it, or you delegate it to someone and throw money at it without a clear strategy.
And you know it’s keeping you from reaching a wider audience.
Platform Building
You put off building or updating your website.
You procrastinate starting and sending out a newsletter.
You randomly post on social media without a plan, get discouraged by the lack of engagement, and end up quitting.
And maybe what you think you “should” be doing is part of the problem.
Networking
Like a lot of writers, you identify as an introvert, which makes it even harder to establish and nurture connections.
You see your peers collaborating and promoting each others’ work and it makes you feel like an “outsider.”
Publishing
You can’t decide whether to pursue traditional self-publishing.
Querying agents and enduring rejections feels daunting and all the elements of going indie overwhelms you.
Bureaucracy
Contracts, negotiations, rights, royalties, copyright, piracy, account terminations…
Navigating all the legal issues and red tape demands too much time and sucks the energy out of your creativity.
Technology
You feel overwhelmed by constantly needing to learn and adapt to new tools and tech.
You don’t feel confident about doing it on your own.
And you’re afraid of being left behind, invisible, your work languishing in obscurity.
Brand / Identity
What the hell is your “brand” exactly?
You don’t know how to make it authentic and effective without feeling like an imposter.
Creative Direction
Longevity as a writer depends upon maintaining a balance between repetition and innovation.
And yet, maybe the next best step is reinventing yourself and going in a completely different direction.
You’re stuck overanalyzing decisions about future projects.
Genre / Niche
You’re excited about new ideas, but you’re afraid pivoting genres will negatively impact established reader expectations.
You’re afraid of rocking the boat by taking creative risks.
Or you’re having trouble choosing the right niche for non-fiction and content creation.
If you niche down, the audience may be too small. If you go too general, your work gets lost in a saturated market.
Creative Fulfillment
You’re producing quality work, and it’s doing well enough.
But your writing doesn’t challenge you anymore. You’re not excited about it.
You’re unfulfilled and not realizing your potential.
Burnout
You’re not just burned out in your writing process, but also in managing all the demands of a successful writing career, a day job, and a personal life.
This is a holistic issue, where your writing is an escape from everything else crumbling around you.
Finances (Again)
Do we really need to keep beating the dead horse of money mindset?
Starving artist syndrome. Dwindling royalties. Pay-to-play.
If you could just make a living from your writing.
If you could just write full time.
If you could just write faster.
If you could just publish more.
If you could just catch a break and some lightning in a bottle…
Overcoming these various blocks requires a combination of strategic planning, continuous learning, and adaptability, along with introspection to address the underlying sources.
Although these challenges are beyond what we think of as “classic” writer’s block, the sources of these creative blocks (and their subconscious fears) are often the same.
Take a second look at the exercises in the Sources and Subconscious Blocks and the replies you sent me to previous emails.
Do the challenges you're experiencing beyond your writing craft and routine share the same underlying sources or subconscious blocks?
Overcoming any of them starts with clarity.
Need more clarity as you go through the exercises?
I can help you get personalized answers in just one hour.
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