I Don't Give a 💩
And How That Got Me to Write Again
Oh hi there, sailors! It’s been a few weeks since last we spoke, and mainly that’s because…well, because of what a wild ride the beginnings of 2025 have already been. There haven’t been any vents recently, and I get it. We’ve had a lot more to take our attention in these first couple months of the year than writerly woes, boy howdy, and I’m never going to demand vents come in when you’ve got other things to worry about. Just know that if things begin to settle and your attention goes back to writerly worries, I’m here to vent to. I’m sending all kinds of love to anyone who could use some right now ❤️
In the meantime, I thought I’d do a follow-up to my Inspiration Stagnation post from last May where I called for writers to give me their tips on what to do since I could not for the life of me come up with any book ideas that I actually wanted to write about. Well, it’s happened…
No, I’m not shitting in the street, but ideas are pouring out of me! Ideas linked to a story that I’m having an absolute blast writing. In case anyone else is having a hard time starting a new manuscript like I was, but really wants to not only find a new idea, but get into a flow, here’s what I did that finally helped (*Disclaimer: This, of course, may not work for you AT ALL! It might even piss you off to read since I’m listing off ideas here like, It’s just that easy! All you have to do is follow this list! For the record, I’m not saying that, and I often get pissed off and insecure reading craft books or how-to ideas because they typically don’t work for me. This is just a Hey, maybe try this suggestion and if you hate it, you know what’s best for you and I’m an idiot 😊):
*So here’s the most important thing that got me to start writing again: I stopped giving a shit 🤷🏼♀️ About everything. I just stopped giving a shit about having a plan, about what the heart of the book is, about whether this book will ever sell, about how readers might receive it (Disclaimer Part Deux: please don’t take this to mean that I don’t care about my readers; I LOVE THEM IMMENSELY! I just realized trying to please them before I even set out to write wasn’t helping me create anything there could even be a possibility of them liking), about writing to trends, about pleasing anyone else during this time of creation other than myself. Giving a shit is what had left me in paralysis for the previous eight-plus months. I gave so many shits that since I didn’t have everything set up perfectly in place (a 30-page outline, word count goals, a clear layer of life I was trying to explore and having feelings about), I just couldn’t write at all.
Here’s the tricky part about this step: I’m not exactly sure how I stopped caring. I care a lot in most facets of my life. A lot of people would say I care too much. I mean, I already know that the title of my someday memoir will be A Little Bit Desperate (Okay…A Lot) because I think about what you and everyone else will think about me constantly. When Sabrina Carpenter sings she can’t relate to desperation, I always raise my hand and shout, “I can!”
I think this not-caring ultimately has something to do with the state of the world and having this bone-deep knowledge that everything else right now matters more than what I’m writing, so when I’m writing, it should just be for fun and to combat any wonkiness 2025 is trying to throw at me. So I guess maybe, um, thanks, 2025? Again 🤷🏼♀️ In a nutshell, even when writing with the goal of publication, I’m realizing that when I can get in the mindset that my No. 1 Goal is just for me to have fun and publication and all that other stuff comes second, I can write. At least for now.
*To give me even a vague sense of direction (I promise my directional instincts are way less vague when steering this ship) about what to write, I thought about what I love. What type of media always gives me the warm fuzzies or the feeling of wanting more? What’s a setting or a theme or an overall vibe that I just truly enjoy and can’t get enough of? Unsurprisingly to many, the answer was Christmas. Even though my last published book was a holiday story, it’s a time of year I love so freaking much, it’s a lore that I love seeing fresh new takes on, and I realized that when I really thought about it, my time creating Christmas art wasn’t done yet. Now, I’m not saying that the answer to your writing slump will be to write about Christmas (unless—Hark! the Herald Angels sing!—that works for you), but I am saying to make a list of everything you truly love and personally want to escape into, and pick something in that list to focus your next idea on.
*Here’s the wild thing about not giving a shit about what the book was about. When I just wrote wherever the Muse or Santa was taking me, I finally knew what I was really writing about. I started with a logline of sorts of a bonkers take on Christmas, and then wrote, and by the end of the first week I knew what the heart of the novel was. But even when I knew what layer of life I wanted to explore in this, I didn’t write an outline. I’m telling myself every day, Don’t write an outline. Just go with it! This goes against literally everything I’ve ever done ever. I always outline. Like, ALWAYS! It’s my very Type-A ways that demand I know where I’m going and can get a draft out in about 6-8 weeks. But, obvi, that wasn’t working. Pushing aside my old habits and just writing is creating a sense of play that I haven’t felt in a while. But now that I know what layer of life I’m trying to dive into, I use that as a guiding light and just go with the flow. So far, it’s worked. Who knew? (You pantsers, you totally knew)
*Lastly, I haven’t set a single solitary deadline or word count minimum. I’m just writing when it feels right. I’m no longer getting down on myself if I “only” write 50 words. 50 words are still words! One word is still a word! That all counts. That shit adds up! When it starts being more stressful than fun trying to figure out what’s next, I stop right then and there. I go do other fun things, or things that boost my creativity in different ways that aren’t manuscript-focused. I’ve been doing creativity challenges (like this 30-day challenge from Lori Snyder), reading craft/creativity books (currently The Happy Writer by Marissa Meyer and The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin), journaling the heck out of life, reading books for pleasure, watching shows/movies that I’ve been hankering to get lost in, etc. etc. etc. I count it all as writing time, even when I’m not really writing by any stretch of the imagination. In the long run, all those things have fueled my writing brain, so even if I stop a writing session rather quickly, when I get back to the manuscript the next day, ideas pop right up. It’s been a wonder.
So throw caution to the wind! Do things you don’t usually do! Stop caring about anything because don’t we do this for fun? Let me know what 💩 you’re leaving behind in the comments, or if you’d like to remain anonymous, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com and I’ll keep your name out of the shit talk!
-JJ
If you’d like to vent about anything author/writing related, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP. I’ll give you my take in a post, and we’ll crowdsource author opinions in the comments. You’ll remain anonymous, and any haters will be thrown overboard. Ultimately, I think you’re going to be buoyed up by author love and support as we realize we really are all in the same boat 🛳️
❤️❤️❤️ this and…same. Just don’t care and the resulting manuscript is really fuc$&ng dark and funny and feels like…me? Can’t wait to read what you are cooking up!!
I appreciate you sharing this. Last year I experienced similar paralysis after the second of my two post-Covid mg novel manuscripts died on sub, all while getting the best rejections of my life. But in the end, “We don’t think this will break out.”
Of course, I know so few books do, and it was just another thing editors say to turn you down. But I couldn’t shake it and spent the better part of a year unable to write because I kept skipping from the project to project, feeling hopeless because none of my new projects was likely to “break out” either. (I still think that’s an unfair expectation to voice in a rejection letter!)
A few weeks back, I was thinking about how writing used to bring me joy, and how I hadn’t felt that in a long time. That realization (plus spring coming finally, maybe) set something loose inside me, and I’m back to working on a new project. It may never sell. It is certainly unlikely to “break out.” But I’m having fun and experiencing the joy of writing again.