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What to Do When You Hate Your Writing

Do you find that you hate your writing lately?

You look back over those pages full of the words you’ve written and become overwhelmed with the urge to light a huge bonfire.

“Twenty thousand words and a good handful of chapters in,” says author J. M. Frey, “and I hated my novel. I thought it was trite. It was clichéd. It was boring. There was nothing compelling about it and I should just stop and save everyone in the world the pain of having to even know the book ever existed!”

I think most of us have gone through periods when we’ve felt like this. The question is, how do you get past these ugly feelings so you can do what really matters: keep writing?

Two Times When It’s Normal for Writers to Hate Their Own Writing

First things first—if you hate your writing, you’re not alone.

“I’ve met only a few narcissistic writers who never questioned the dazzling brilliance of their work,” says novelist and writing coach Randy Ingermanson. “About half of them were extraordinary geniuses and the other half were irretrievably awful.”

So questioning your own work is normal. But in those moments when you’re worried the writing might be really awful, that probably doesn’t help much.

Still, if you talk to most seasoned writers, they’ll tell you all writers (and artists, for that matter) go through periods where they feel that what they’re producing is crap. There are two times when this type of feeling is likely to come up, and it’s up to you as a writer to determine which time you’re in:

You’re a new writer , and you’ve only been at this for a few years. Even if you’ve spent longer than that, perhaps you haven’t had the time to really focus on your craft to the point that you can practice purposefully and improve it.
You’re an experienced writer with some success under your belt, but now you’re in the middle of a particular work, and you’re questioning it.

We’ll look at number one first.

New Writers Need to “Fill the Gap”

When you first start out, it’s perfectly normal and even healthy to feel the work is not living up to what you want it to be. Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life , famously stated:

“All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.”

In other words, you are enough of a writer already to recognize the flaws in your work, or at least to know there are flaws. You know something’s not right, but your skills or your ability to craft a novel have not yet reached the level of your artistic sensibilities.

How long you spend in this “beginning” period depends on a lot of things, but mainly on how much time you get to devote to your writing, and how much you’re working with an editor or other mentor to get feedback and improve it. Writing, completing each story, and then writing again is the only real way to graduate from novice to pro, and that takes a significant investment of energy and time.

The good news is, as long as you don’t give up, it will eventually work—you will get better.

“We all go through this,” Glass says. “And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.”

That means you have to fall back on your discipline. Have a scheduled writing time each day and stick with it. If it discourages you to read what you wrote the day before, don’t do it. Just start with the next scene and keep going.

It’s incredibly important to finish each project you start, as that’s the only way you’ll improve your skills. If you get to the tough parts and quit and then start over on a new project, you’ll stagnate right where you are. Instead, power through. Find mentors or editors to help. Read books about plotting, setting, and characterization. Immerse yourself into your own writing course as if you were getting a college degree in it.

Realize that most people (minus the exceptional geniuses) require years of concentrated practice to become good writers and storytellers. Give yourself the gift of your patience, accept your own failings, and keep trying. Have faith that you will improve, and one day you’ll look back and find that you have.

Experienced Writers Go Through Periods of Hating Their Work

More experienced writers who have already been through the beginning period, improved their skills, and reached a certain level of success, can still go through times of hating their work.

For some, those times come up during just about every novel. When you reach the dreaded middle, for example, or when you’ve gone through several revisions and still the story isn’t living up to the vision you had for it, you can begin to have fantasies of deleting the files and starting over.

“I put off my fifth revision for months,” said freelance writer Alison Murphy. “Every time I went near my manuscript, I recoiled from it in horror. I couldn’t believe that I had spent so much time producing such boring, unreadable crap.”

Here we’re talking about that gap again—the one that exists between the vision you had for the story and the reality of it staring back at you on the page or the computer screen. The larger that gap is, the more frustrated you’re bound to feel. If you haven’t finished the story yet, those feelings can be even worse.

“It’s a bizarre phenomena the way writers see-saw between a love/hate relationship with their own writing,” says blogger David Stehle. “You’re in the throes of a story or an article. You feel inspired. The creative juices begin to flow. It’s all blooming before you and you’re experiencing that writer’s high….Then the angst sets in. The writing you thought was superb suddenly seems clunky and inadequate. The phrases you particularly liked now seem awkward and ill-formed. The metaphors lack depth and the imagery is weak. The writing is awful…or at least to you it is.”

Feeling like this can mean a number of different things. We’ll review the three most common below.

3 Reasons Writers Hate Their Own Writing

If you’re feeling like you hate your writing right now and you’re an experienced writer, most likely it’s because of one of the three reasons below.

1. The Writer is Tired

Fatigue shows up in funny ways, and hating your work can be one of them. If you’ve been going at it steadily for awhile now, you can find out if this is the cause by simply taking a break. Take a step back from the story. Work on something else for awhile, or take a few days off of writing completely.

Go do something else you enjoy so you can get your mind off the story and how you feel about it. Get involved in some of your other hobbies, or spend some time with your friends and/or family. It could be that when you’ve rested up and refreshed your brain a little, your writing will look much better to you.

2. The Writer Knows Something Isn’t Working

You’ve been working on this piece for awhile, and something just isn’t right. You can feel it. It sits there in the back of your head and keeps banging away on the door. You continue to write, but it’s like you’re trying to squeeze through a space that’s too small for you.

Go back and review what you know about good story structure. Is it clear what the hero wants? Is it clear how the antagonist is standing in his way? Are the stakes high? Does the hero have both internal and external motivation going on? Is the antagonist making things tough enough?

There are a number of books and courses out there that can help you pinpoint what might be going wrong in your story. Don’t be afraid to step back and do some research to see if you can find out.

I’ve used Blueprint Your Bestseller by Stuart Horowitz many times to help myself out of this sort of bind. He has a cool way of guiding you through your manuscript to find its key components, so you can see if they’re measuring up like they need to. His method gives you a way to work with what you have to find out its weak spots, and then you can figure out how to fix them and move forward again.

3. The Writer is Allowing Self-Doubt to Rule

Self-doubt is a constant companion for most writers. It tends to lie dormant for long periods of time, and then out of the blue it can raise its ugly head to cause problems.

What have you been been thinking about lately? If you’re in the dreaded middle of the story and you’re struggling, it’s natural for self-doubt to take advantage of that momentary weakness to wear you down.

It could also be that you’ve fallen into the trap of comparing yourself with other writers. Maybe you heard about another writer’s success or read another writer’s material, and suddenly your work seemed amateurish by comparison.

Or maybe you recently received yet another rejection, or your story didn’t place in that contest you entered. If you can go back in time and trace your thoughts, you may find that somewhere along the line, something entered your mind that started you down the path of doubting yourself.

If this is what’s causing you to look at your own work with a jaded eye, try to remind yourself of your accomplishments so far. Go back and re-read the positive comments and reviews, then return your focus to what you enjoy about writing. Give yourself the time you need to simply create, without fear of judgment.

Allow writing to be the true form of expression it’s meant to be, and your self-doubt will likely recede into the background.

No Matter What, Writers Must Finish

No matter why you may be hating your writing right now, the important thing is to keep working. Don’t let it stop you.

“Keep going,” says writer Jessica Flory. “Finish that novel, no matter what. Even if you never publish it, practicing writing a whole novel is crucial. You need practice blending everything that makes a story into a whole. If you give up in the middle that will never happen. You’ll never get to practice writing an ending, and you’ll never get to see what the complete story would’ve looked like. So finish, no matter what.”

Murphy agrees, stating that when she went through her hating phase, her friend asked her one question that helped her persevere: “Can you hate it and work on it at the same time?” She went on to print the manuscript out and mark it up with a red pen, and then she was able to get back to work fixing all the problems she found.

Finally, realize that emotions come and go. They are passing things. So don’t let them be the last word on this piece you’re creating. Find a way to keep going, and finish the project. That is your job as a writer.

Besides, we all know that there’s a thin line between love and hate, which means you may just be hours away from loving your writing once again.

(For more help finishing your projects, check out our course, “ How to Finish the Creative Projects You Start! “)

What do you do when you hate your writing?

Sources Flory, J. (2013, June 30). What to Do If You Hate Your Novel – A Guest Post – Storyfix.com [Video file]. Retrieved from http://storyfix.com/what-to-do-if-you-hate-your-novel-a-guest-post

Frey, J. M. (2017, May 2). Words for Writers: My Writing Sucks and I Hate Everything Or, Being A Writer While Human. Retrieved from http://jmfrey.net/2014/11/my-writing-sucks-and-i-hate-everything-or-being-a-writer-while-human/

Glass, I. (2016, August 5). The Gap by Ira Glass [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91FQKciKfHI

Ingermanson, R. (2016, January 30). What If You Hate Your Own Writing? | Advanced Fiction Writing. Retrieved from https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2012/11/14/what-if-you-hate-your-own-writing/

Murphy, A. (2015, August 25). The Importance of Hating Your Own Writing [Video file]. Retrieved from http://deaddarlings.com/importance-hating-writing/

Stehle, D. (n.d.). When You Hate Your Own Writing [Video file]. Retrieved from http://diamondkt.blogspot.com/2010/07/when-you-hate-your-own-writing.html

Excellent advice about finishing a piece. I want to bail on my blog this week, but I won’t. I’ll do the best I can and put it out. I’m tired from surgery recovery, but I still want to write a decent draft of this piece. I’m also at the place where I think everything feels worthless, but my readers disagree. So on I go–finish and post and see what happens next. The piece may be a little dry, but it’s explaining an important idea I’ll use in a workshop in May. I’m trying to articulate a slippery concept. Thanks once again.

Sounds like you’re understandably fatigued, Elaine, and that affects everything, especially the writing. I’m sure readers will enjoy your blog regardless—that old thing of when we write no matter how we feel, the outcome is usually better than we think. Meanwhile hoping you can get some rest and find a way to play to bring the joy back into your creativity. Good luck!

Your article arrives at the right time, Colleen, because I’m in the self-editing phase and I just hit a wall. There’s something very wrong in the middle of my draft and it’s so wrong that I’m not even able to go on reading. What do I have in mind in order to fix it? How can I go back to love but also trust my wag of working? I shake things up; I find a way to turn things over and see where that leads me. Somewhere down the path I’ll have to stop.

I can totally relate, Alessandro. I’ve gotten to that stuck place like 4 times in the novel I’m currently working on. Finally broke through when I saw a movie that inspired me to tell it from a totally different angle. It worked. And btw, I had taken a break from the story and was working on another piece of writing when that breakthrough happened. Good luck finding your solution–I’m sure you will!

For me, it usually happens after I have a contract and have read and reread the manuscript a dozen times during the editing, copy editing, and ARC proofing process. It doesn’t go away until a box of published copies arrive at my house. Then, finally, I can love the story again.

Exactly. Definitely get this one! Somehow holding the physical book in your hands means all is forgiven. :O)

I need this. I’m close to the end. But, I go from ups and downs. Got to get it finished and you helped.

Yes, keep going Joe! The ups and downs are totally normal. I’m going through that now with my novel, too. Good luck!

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It’s Okay to Have a Love/Hate Relationship With Your Writing

Katie williams remembers reading anne lamott’s “shitty first drafts” and the slog of learning to be a writer.

One of my moments of greatest relief as a writer—equal, perhaps, to the swell and crest of learning that my first novel would be published—was when, decades ago, my Intro to Creative Writing professor assigned Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” and I arrived at this passage: “Very few writers…go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled. They do not type a few stiff warm-up sentences and then find themselves bounding along like huskies across the snow…. For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous.”

Before reading this, I had believed something was wrong with me. I loved writing; I knew I loved writing. But also, I hated writing. To put a finer point on it, I squirmed with discomfort at the act of putting words on the page. Often, the only way I could write was to curl into the fetal position in my desk chair and rock, clunking my forehead against my knees, until eventually, reluctantly, tremulously, I’d lift my hands to the keyboard and peck out a word.

It is a strange feeling to be both compelled to do something and repelled in the doing of that same thing. What relief to discover that other writers, published ones yet, felt the same way!

Writing is uncomfortable. After you face the vulnerability of drafting a manuscript, you listen to often-bracing critical feedback on that manuscript, after which you enter the dizzying, stymieing revision process, but then—thank all the stars in the sky—you’re done! Just kidding. You’re not nearly finished. Now you’re on to the slog of trying to publish the darned thing.

It is no wonder writers use the language of hurt to describe the process. I’ve had students tell me they want workshop to be “painful” and “brutal,” which I take to mean that they want us to be honest about their work. However, it is both interesting and unsurprising to me that they assume this candor must wound.

And this brings me back to my eighteen-year-old writer self, who seesawed like some tempestuous lover in a romantic comedy: I love writing! But I hate writing! But I love writing! Over two decades and four novels later, I am here to report back that writing is not any easier or more comfortable; however, I have discovered a useful trick.

I have learned that because writing is so often so difficult, hateful even, it is helpful to embrace the “I love writing” half of the litany. I have found it both creatively and emotionally beneficial to write toward what I love.

I wrote and published my first two novels with my teeth clenched and my fists balled. Writing was hard; this I knew well; and hey look at me; I was doing the hard thing. But then I wrote a novel that no one wanted, and at the same time my agent changed jobs. It felt like what I’d been working toward (in what I’ll freely admit was a charmed career) had disappeared in an instant. This would’ve been a fine time to proclaim, “I hate writing!”

And while it’s true that I did feel frustrated and dejected, the main thing I felt, after all the other feelings had dissipated, was love: Love for reading fiction, love for the challenge of writing fiction, and love for what arrives on the page. The month was December. I’d write a new story in the New Year, I decided, and I’d put everything I loved inside of it.

So I did that. I wrote a short story set in the near-future San Francisco about a woman who works as a glorified customer service rep, administering a technology that tells people what will make them happy, while her own teenage son is profoundly un happy. And I filled the story with beloved things, including awkward office interactions, quirky futuristic technology, the places in relationships where sadness and happiness get muddled, and the morning light in San Francisco out in the avenues.

The story grew into what would become my third novel, Tell the Machine Goodnight , and as I wrote, I kept on stuffing it with more and more things I love, whether in fiction or in life: teenage detectives, an empathetic scream queen, a governess in a haunted house, also, monitor lizards. (Did you know? They can count!) The novel grew around these loves and it became the shape they wanted it to be, like a tree spangled with baubles and tinsel.

Tell the Machine Goodnight is about happiness, so it makes sense that it was written through and about things that make me happy. But listen to this: My new novel, My Murder , is about a woman, Lou, who was murdered and cloned and returned to her old life. In short, it’s about trauma. Once again, as I wrote, I filled the book with things that I love, this time things I love in mystery/thrillers: twisty plotlines, armchair detectives, deadpan humor, an alluring femme fatale, a charismatic serial killer, a prickly babysitter, and more.

I still had to force myself through many uncomfortable writing sessions, and I still had to look flinty eyed at my revisions. However, it turned out that what I’d found pleasing and joyous and fun in the manuscript, other people did, too. You know the workshop saying that if you were bored writing it, your reader will be bored reading it? I think the same concept applies if a writer is smitten. I mean, can’t you tell when you’re reading about something a writer loves?

Also, revising toward what I loved in the manuscript made these elements bigger and more developed parts of the story, and a lot of what wasn’t working in the novel simply fell away. Finally, writing about and into what I loved helped sustain me through the long, and yes sometimes painful, drafting and revision process.

How about you? What do you love, in fiction or in life? What do your readers say is strong, beautiful, or pleasing about your writing? What if for just one draft or just one revision you focused on only those things? What opportunities might open up in your story? What shape might your manuscript take? What would that process be like? What would it feel like?

______________________________

My Murder by Katie Williams is available via Riverhead .

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Welcome back! This is part three of a series revealing the truth about writing with mini lessons! In each blog post I provide a mini lesson you can use with your class to discuss topics all students think about but rarely get the chance to talk about in their writing classrooms. Click part one & two below if you missed them…

Part One: Why Your Writing is Not Very Good Awful Part Two:Why Some Writers Are Better Than Others Part Three:Why Some People Hate Writing [This Article]

Here are five ways you can support your writing haters:

I taught the proceeding mini lesson with my students (as I do with all mini lessons I post on my site) and their #1 reason for hating writing was grades! I was not expecting this passionate, resounding reaction from my students about how grades stole the joy out of writing for them. This lesson turned into a whole other conversation about how impacted my students lives are by grades. It was a reality check for me. I realized what we should be writing about…changing the grading system at our school, in our district and who knows maybe the country! This is the perfect opportunity to get my students writing passionately and with purpose. You never know where your students can take a mini lesson….

Say, “How many of you just can’t stand writing, maybe even hate it?” Make a list of reasons students might hate writing together as a class. Write as many reasons as your students can think of on the board.

The Teaching Point

Say, “Here are five reasons I’ve noticed students might not like writing: 1. lack of structure 2. fear of making embarrassing mistakes 3. boredom 4. lack of audience 5. answers are unclear. 6. grades. Today you will learn some ways to overcome these barriers and keep writing.

1. Lack of Structure

Explain to students that all types of writing has a structure. Those who don’t know the structure are most likely going to hate writing because they have nothing to lean on when the writing gets tough and it always does!

Say, “The informational writing structure is usually-step by step or topic and subtopic; narrative writing structure is usually-characters, settings, conflicts and resolution; opinion writing structure usually is- claim, evidence and reasoning. Now that you know these structures you are less likely to hate writing because you can depend on these structures for help when you are stuck.”

2. Fear of Making Embarrassing Mistakes

Explain to students that EVERYONE makes mistakes, sounds dumb and does embarrassing things and let them in on this secret…difficult & embarrassing experiences usually make the best stories! Tell students that in your classroom mistakes and in life in general mistakes should be seen as an opportunity to learn, not something to be embarrassed by.

Explain to students that sometimes in life they are going to be forced to write about a topic they could care less about. Sometimes parents and teachers think it is their job to choose topics for kids to write about. Say, “In these moments…ask the adult if they could possibly let you write about something you LOVE, push the limits of the adult limiting your choice! Remind them that if you don’t care about the topic neither will your reader!”

4. Lack of an Audience

Say, “Today more than ever an audience awaits…kids can create websites, E-books, apps, YouTube channels, clipart and so much more. You are a writer if you are alive. There is an audience at your fingertips if you choose to write. Don’t wait for an adult to give you a boring old assignment, start creating something, start writing and sharing now.”

5. Answers Are Unclear

Say, “Some hate writing because there is not one right answer. There are many ways to go about saying the same thing and that can be overwhelming. It can be downright scary! Writing requires abstract thinking-a level of thinking about things beyond the here and now to thinking about the past, present, future and connections between. Don’t give up on writing yet, let your brain develop, keep pencil to paper, fingertips to keyboard because I promise, if you do, someday soon you will write something to be proud of.”

6. Say, “I’ve heard from you all that one of the main reasons you dislike writing is because of grades. If you feel passionately about this topic what steps could we take today to change this problem?”

Say, “Students you are writers and can writers write whatever they want! You can write an opinion, a letter persuading someone to change our school grading policy or you could write a poem, a list, a rap, a script for a video or a fairy tale!” Have students discuss with a partner some ideas about what they could write and then where they could find an audience for what they create. Then…send them off to start.

Work Time/Conferencing

Voice Overs Compliment students who write quickly and with passion! Move around the classroom taking note of students who seem to sit for awhile, making little effort to write. These are good candidates for your small group conference.

If the majority of your class is sitting and staring off into space or chatty then more guidelines might be necessary. Review the structure of information writing and then have these students pick topics of interests from there (students who are writing quickly and with passion will not need this conference or extra guideline).

Small Group Work with a group of students who are overwhelmed with the choices and need guidance with picking a topic. Probe students about their interests by asking questions such as, “What do you do at recess? After school? On weekends?”

One-On-One Pull students who still aren’t sure what to write about even after giving extra guidelines to a small group.

These students may be suffering from all or most of the big five reasons students hate writing. Patience is key. Especially remember with these students that their brains are still developing, they may struggle to think abstractly while also not being sure of their interests AND afraid to make mistakes all at once, poor inexperienced writers! Allow these students lots of time to talk about experiences, interests and opinions. You may even consider typing up the discussions. The more you get them talking and realizing their ideas matter (AND THEY DO!) the more willing they will be to write.

Sharing writing and experiences with writing is such a powerful way to build community in your classroom. Let students read and talk about their writing in small groups. Ask students to read parts of their writing out loud to the whole class. Give them an opportunity to talk about what they accomplished in the time they had and discuss struggles they had too!

I hope that I have provided insight and inspiration for your writing class through this post. Don’t forget to share on your social media if you found any of this valuable! Thanks a million times over for visiting and reading!

I appreciate the tips that were provided. I used to hate writing because there were just too many mistakes I would make, and then I’d often end up evaluating my performance to the point where I began to criticize myself. I’m a student who’s currently trying to write a book. Because of the lack of tips I learned before reading this article, writing became more interesting and engaging—props to anyone who can establish these lessons and teach students to enjoy the art of writing.

Thanks Caleb! I’m happy this information helped you with making writing more engaging. Congrats on writing a book, what an endeavor. I’ve tried and quit many times…working on one now. But, life always seems to get in the way, you know?

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Energy and Intuition for INFJs Video Course

I’m a Writer but I Hate Actually Writing. What’s Wrong with Me?

The mythology about writers who love writing runs rampant in the online world. Many successful authors give interviews where they say they can’t live without writing, they have to write or they’ll go mad, and they live for those precious hours when they can sit down, in solitude and seclusion, and write themselves into the blissful creative zone for hours on end.

While I don’t doubt that these kinds of writers exist, there is also another reality for writers that is rarely acknowledged. Specifically, a lot of writers don’t enjoy writing. At all.

Now when I say “writing” in this instance, I mean the actual act of writing. The part of the process where you sit down in front of the blank page and you write out new words that have never been seen before in your story or article (or whatever it is) you’re attempting to write. For many writers—especially intuitive writers—this is the part that feels like torture. And “torture” covers a wide range of feelings.

For some writers, the act of writing feels boring and tedious. For others it feels scary and dreadful. And for some of us, it just plain feels hard. Either you can’t think of anything good to write, your inner critic won’t shut up, or time seems to have slowed to a crawl. And when the words finally do start pouring out, it can feel a little like purging, vomiting in a metaphorical sense. You feel amazing when it’s over, but when it’s happening, not so much.

What’s not talked about very often amongst writers is this dread and hatred of the act of writing. Most writers feel embarrassed, or ashamed, if they feel this way. Because after all, shouldn’t writers love writing? We think about it all the time, we talk about it all the time, we read books on it and join writing groups and communities, and tweet about it and study it and a hundred other things that are all supposed to help us become better writers and claim this form of art, this identity, that means so much to us. So…if we hate writing, like actually really hate sitting down in front of the page and slogging our way through a few hundred words, doesn’t that mean something is seriously wrong?

Well, no. More writers than you would guess don’t actually like the act of writing. I talk more about this in-depth in the video below, and how the dread and fear around writing can be overcome with one simple tool that I’ve used myself for over 14 years now:

I’m launching a new, live class this November specifically for writers who have problems writing. It’s designed to work as a support for people who are doing NaNoWriMo and also as an alternative for people who are not doing NaNo but would still like to be part of something, find community, and challenge themselves with their writing practice in the month of November. The new class is called the Creative Commitment Challenge and I’m really excited about it.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in joining, be sure to sign up for my newsletter HERE to get all the updates and announcements about the class as I release them. We’re going to be starting on November 1, just like NaNoWriMo, so be sure to keep an eye on your inbox so you don’t miss anything.

I’ll be releasing video 2 in this series in just a couple of days, all about why it’s so hard to carve out writing time and the biggest mistake writers make in this area when it comes to making the time to write on a regular basis. See you then!

Lauren Sapala is the author of The INFJ Writer and The INFJ Revolution . She is also currently offering a free copy of her book on creative marketing for INFJ and INFP writers to anyone who signs up for her newsletter. SIGN UP HERE to get your free copy of Firefly Magic: Heart Powered Marketing for Highly Sensitive Writers.

Lauren Sapala

Writer, Writing Coach and Blogger

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What Do You Do When You Hate ALL Your Ideas?

by Joe Bunting | 17 comments

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Yesterday, I quit the story I was working on. I tried to start something new but then hated the new idea and quit it, too.

I go through these periods every once in a while when I hate all my writing ideas. Even writing this post was hard. Every sentence I wrote, I hated. Has this ever happened to you? How do you handle it?

What do you do when you hate your writing?

Photo by Jackie

Writers, like many creatives, have these bi-polar-like cycles. Hating everything you've ever written is the other side of that feverish inspiration you experience when write thousands of words a day and think each sentence is genius.

But sometimes, there's something else going on, some emotional or mental block that's keeping you from writing your story.

Searching For Your Story

We all get stuck sometimes, but when you get stuck you need to keep writing. Write whatever you think, even if it has no relation to your story, even if you'll have to delete everything later.

For example, if you hate your story idea, write about why you hate it. If you can't even focus on your story, write about whatever you're thinking. You can call this morning pages or free writing but in the end you're searching for your story.

When I started doing this yesterday, my writing led me to an emotional issue in my life that I've been struggling with for weeks. I realized this issue was not only blocking my writing, it was blocking my whole life. By writing about it, I was able to discover the roots of the issue, and later, make steps to fix it.

The surprising truth is that when you search for your story, you end up discovering a lot about yourself. (Share this on Twitter ?)

Don't Hate Your Story, Accept Yourself

You often hate your writing for good reasons. Your story may really be as shallow and boring as you think it is.

The secret to writing stories that not only don't suck but boldly speak to the human condition is to explore your own humanity more deeply.

What I've learned is that my story is really me.

When I'm not being honest with myself, when I'm trying to hide my faults and failures, when I'm projecting some false self, it's almost impossible to write my story. Writing is a vulnerable act. If you can't accept yourself, you will have a hard time accepting your story.

Accept yourself. Accept your story. Give yourself room to as vulnerable as a child. Acceptance is the pathway to love, love of your story and of yourself.

Have you ever hated everything you wrote? What did you do to get to a place of acceptance?

Let's spend some time free writing today. For fifteen minutes , write about whatever you're feeling, good or bad. If you'd like to share your free write in the comments section, feel free, but no pressure.

Happy writing!

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Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

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17 Comments

What’s the best way to research about occupations that are unfamiliar to you?

1. Figure out where a bunch of them are likely to grab lunch and hang out there and strike a conversation 2. Try HARO (Help a Reporter Out) – kind of like a Craigslist/freecycle of contacts and info

Well, for HARO you have to define the outlet that you’re writing an article for… I’d say use the Internet and your networks on social media (somebody is bound to know somebody who knows somebody)

Writers always have days where they hate their writing. At the same time, there are those times when you write a certain sentence and it comes out just perfect. Next thing you know, you feel like you’re on top of the world because your novel is now the greatest piece of literature on earth.

For more of my thoughts, go here: http://vozey.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/writing-day-to-day/

But, knowing whether you’re legitimately criticizing your work or just attacking it can seem a lot trickier to discern. It isn’t. You know how you filter other people’s criticism right? If they say, “Well, I liked the story…. but… you missplpeld that word…”

If you find yourself saying “this would be better”, it probably would be. On the other hand, if there are no suggestions, ideas popping out, or attempts to otherwise fix the problem, there probably isn’t a problem, you’re just bashing yourself.

I don’t believe a story is ever “finished”; every time we read it we correct something. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. We might have learned better ways to express a thought, a more concise style of writing, more description. The heart of the story should matter; details later.

My thoughts are a gray reflection of the sky, overcast, undefined. The sun has disappeared, and I’m left to light my own way. Pressure adds creases to my brow and steals away a smile. The diamond sparkle of life has faded under the grime of stress. That’s it! Time to ditch the grime and polish. I choose moments of reflection, deep breaths of clean air, a listing of all things right. My favorite music lifts me, authors’ words inspire. I search for beauty surrounding me and catch a ray of light. I’ve been given so much. Maybe it’s time to share.

it feels like your mood is lifting and you’re ready to get back to writing. The exercise works!

Agreed. The time has come for me as well.

Great post. I often start hating my ideas, too. I need to keep writing!

I hated my first college essay even though it seemed to be exactly what was asked of me. i tweaked it and improved the grammar, sentence structure variety, verb strength and more. I still hated it. So much so that I couldn’t stand the idea of my name and SAT scores being attached to it in anybody’s file. (This was LONG before the digital common app.) I imagined the question I would have liked to answer, and wrote that essay. It was much more truthful on all levels. I worried that it didn’t show all my accomplishments, did show serious cracks in my confidence, and was at serious risk of putting me in the “doesn’t follow directions” pit. But I typed it, proofed it, and mailed it before I could finish talking myself out of it. So the oldest advice is the best: keep writing. Change it up, change it back, take a whole new tack, but don’t give up. Start in a place that’s so interesting to you, you almost have to write about it, and it will be what the reader realizes s/he wants to know. And another cliche: the deadline is actually your friend. And yes, I got the fat letter.

Once you start writing and you’re afraid of the direction it might take, carry on and it goes somewhere more acceptable. Actual writing teases out some things you’re not aware of. Does that make sense?

This is the first time

This is exactly what I needed today. I don’t like to get caught up in endlessly examining my own thought loops, but I do find that my creative writing gets bogged down when I have unexamined thoughts and feelings hovering on the edges of my consciousness.

This phrase says it all: ‘..endlessly examining my own thought loops..’ Refocus on something else.

Yesterday I was feeling as I’ve been for the last two weeks: struggling for peace of mind, trying to ‘settle down’. I’d sneaked back into my comfort zone – read my favourite author, listened to my favourite music – but every time it was only a brief release from feeling guilty about not having gotten anywhere with my writing. In the back of my mind I could hear my muse threatening me if I didn’t seriously put pen to paper or, if you prefer, fingers to keyboard. Yesterday, the first time in almost three weeks I reluctantly went out, to a movie, expecting that the relief here would also be short-lived. But things worked out differently. I can’t remember what the movie was about, but I met an old friend who told me things that changed my whole outlook. Perhaps it was the unseasonal cold weather that had caused the mood swings. This morning it triggered off another setback – hayfever. Although . a runny nose and watery eyes aren’t serious, at the moment it’s the discomfort and inconvenience that hold me back. I have only two handkerchiefs, and they’re both sopping wet. In my condition wiping a runny nose with a wet handkerchief sets off a vicious circle – sniffling, then sneezing and wiping again. Am I wallowing in my misery by not going to the store a few steps away and buying a box of Kleenex? But my spirits are higher today than they’ve been for a long time, because of my foray into the outside world last night. It’s like they say about beating writer’s block: take a bus trip, eavesdrop on strangers, chop firewood or dig a trench, just go out and do something different. I have three meetings with friends scheduled over the next five days which I’m looking forward to.

I’m kind of stuck myself lately, that’s why I wrote a post about inspiration the other day. But you just brought my attention to something I had forgotten – and maybe you’re right, I need to start writing no matter what, and then it will all come together naturally, hopefully. It’s just harder when you spend most of your day writing at work.

Thanks for the tip.

‹ Nico @ Leaf ♦ Pub ›

I have avoided journaling/free writing for exactly the reason mentioned in the article, it brings up that emotional issue that prevents us from writing/living as we are. It’s not that I want to deny the problem, but whereas I used to find some solution or catharsis in the journaling, over the past several months it hadn’t been. In fact, I felt like I was whining on paper so I quit it altogether! I still couldn’t write, so I did other things and somehow those activities have led me back to writing. An odd loop, but I think I eventually realized that the problem that was preventing me from writing was no longer there and that I could continue without hating every scene or stopping and stalling midsentence in frustration.

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Workshop: A Rant Against Creative Writing Classes

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glimmerkind replied on February 21, 2008 - 11:34am Permalink

Creative writing workshops

labanhill replied on February 27, 2008 - 1:32pm Permalink

The Affirmation Culture

madelynfair replied on March 16, 2008 - 10:42am Permalink

a helpful reminder

LaLoren replied on June 1, 2008 - 2:38pm Permalink

Finally someone questioning

Smitheee replied on November 1, 2008 - 5:42pm Permalink

The voice of dissent

heavy hedonist replied on May 29, 2010 - 11:02am Permalink

In praise of bastards...

Once I took an advanced fiction workshop with Professor Feldman at UB. Not easy to warm up to, this teacher or his approach. Not given to false kindness. He held the class tight, reining it in whenever it got too gentle, too complacent. He knew who was serious, who wasn't, who was writing to grind some personal axe and who might have a chance at writing for publication.He was fairly brutal, in many ways.There were no corners to hide in, with him at the end of the table, either in your writing or your critique. It was one of the best courses I ever took, an excellent example of what workshops can be but usually aren't. As I shift from writing group to writing group now, looking for guts and gashing, people who know how to give useful feedback or even at what point it should be given,I dream of workshops that are more than just "supportive." And after spending 10 years studying CW in two universities, I've seen damn few of them.

haikuowl replied on December 19, 2012 - 1:02am Permalink

I never thought of it that

I never thought of it that way. I had always believed the importance of writing classes is the encouragement of students and networking. However, I get where you're coming from when you propose that writing, like anything, is more perspiration than anything else. I just recently got my BFA from Brooklyn College and even though my writing was praised there, I am still very insecure about my work. However, I know writing is something I definitely want to do and I am realistic about the whole thing. I don't go out there expecting to be the next Rimbaud. Your article has made me think a little more.

Top 5 Reasons Students Hate to Write

Many students, including homeschoolers, have an aversion to sentence writing, creative writing, journaling, paragraph writing, essay writing, formal writing, informal writing, and basically any kind of writing. Students need step-by-step writing instruction beginning with sentence composition, followed by paragraph composition, and finally college level essay composition to help them learn how to communicate better. But, many don’t understand why they need to learn how to write since they think they will never understand or use writing skills. Students who are not ready or willing to write, but are forced with inadequate writing instruction, tend to develop a hatred for writing and avoid anything to do with writing altogether. So why do students hate writing?

How am I supposed to figure out what the right answer is? Many students approach writing emotionally not understanding that a concrete or right way exists.

Insufficient groundwork manifests insecurity and frustration : Preparation should include a good base of Language Arts, especially basic grammar and spelling that are further strengthened as writing skills are developed. Some students fear they must get everything perfect on the first draft, and shut down because they do not know how to spell a word or compose various sentence structures effectively. A solid writing foundation focuses on the step-by-step process from brainstorming to outlining to composing the rough draft and writing the final copy. The Write Foundation teaches the writing process and structure, complemented by Language Arts basics, to develop healthy overall language usage with skillful writing.

No right answers : If there is more than one right answer, how am I supposed to figure out what the right answer is? Writing is tough for many students to wrap their heads around. Every other skill they learn has a right answer and a right way to do it. Many approach writing emotionally not understanding that a concrete or right way exists. Teaching writing structure for various types of essays and the writing process of brainstorm, outline, rough draft and final copy, gives your students the confidence needed to jump into any writing assignment, even advanced level essays. The Write Foundation provides the tools students need to make essay writing a concrete endeavor which produces confident writers, and in turn, better writers.

“Writing is too hard.” For many students, writing requires too much extra effort. Reality check: any major breakthrough in brain development takes extra effort.
Students however, need to be mature enough to handle organizing abstract thinking, which happens when most are around 11, 12 or 13.
Students are often forced to write and rewrite and rewrite, which exasperates them even more when they are already insecure about what they are doing.

Many times, students react and shut down. Some throw their hands up and quit and some melt down, or they disassociate themselves and stop inputting effort. If you are experiencing Chernobyl with passive or aggressive behavior, find a way for your student to re-connect with writing by breaking it down into bite sized chunks, backing up or slowing down, pinpointing how to bring the essay together. Hold their hand until they shoo you away because their confidence is built.

When students are bored, teaching writing is a like trying to drive a car out of gas; you get nowhere.

Fear of failure. How in the world do I complete this assignment? Writing style? What is that? Am I being graded on everything? These questions and more swarm around in a teen’s mind when they are overwhelmed. Teach them how to write using structure and the writing process. Yes, a variety of writing structures exists, but teach them enough about basic structures so they have something to fall back on when writing anything. The fear of failure fades when students have enough Language Arts basics, guidance for their writing creations, and are beginning to understand how to use writing structure and the writing process. Then they can get to the task at hand and write.

“I’m bored.” Your homeschooler couldn’t stand reading about it and now he has to write about it? When students are bored, teaching writing is a like trying to drive a car out of gas; you get nowhere.

For Mr. Boredom, let him select his topic within your specifications. A more engaging topic will hold his interest longer.
When teaching different writing styles, some subjects must be used which will not be your students’ favorite, but avoid making them write about subjects they loathe. Teach them how to write with topics that interest them.
Break down the assignment into bite-sized pieces. When tackling an assignment, make the work sessions long enough to make progress, but not so long the brain is drained and shuts down.
Make sure your students are working on the correct level. If the assignment is too difficult, they will shut down and claim boredom. If the assignment is too easy, boredom can also be a challenge.

Build self-confidence by backing up and starting where your child can work successfully before diving into their first daunting essay. Mastering fundamentals alleviates writing roadblocks. Regardless of the roadblocks your homeschooler throws in the way of learning how to write, you can find a way to blast through when you identify them as you listen to your child’s concerns. When you open your children’s horizons by helping them to embrace writing, they gain a skill they will use their entire lives.

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3 reasons I hate writing sometimes (but do it anyway)

There are times I hate writing with the heat of 1000 flaming suns, as my sister would say.

Take this week as an example. I have been editing a 105 page report filled with statistics. It’s the kind of writing job that makes me want to stab my eye out with a pen …

Once I get into it however, I find it strangely satisfying. My report writing hell has made me reflect on the psychology of hating writing – and getting over it. I realised I have a number of ‘tricks’ I use to make me write.

Even when I hate it.

Here’s my top three reasons I hate writing and the tricks I have learned which help – do you have more? Love to hear about them in the comments.

1) Writing is hard work and I don’t like hard work.

In an earlier post I pointed out that one of the reasons that being a researcher is so difficult is that it doesn’t really look like work . To anyone watching me write this, I seem to be just staring at my screen, further developing my collection of frown lines. Inside I feel the churning mass of ideas crowding at the edge of my fingers, wanting to get out.

I’m an experienced writer now – I know that once I hit a ‘flow’state I will be fine, but I avoid it like mad. Writing is a bit like exercise: you know there may be a certain amount of pleasure in the activity once you get going, but there will also be pain and discomfort. If you are a fundamentally lazy person, like me, any deferment activity will do: email, Twitter, cleaning the toilet… well, I’m sure you can relate.

Routine helps of course, but the role of emotion is often overlooked. Desire, curiosity, interest, jealousy, anger and excitement: they make me want to write. From all I have read on the psychology of writing I know that many of you will be the same.

How can you use this insight?

Research on thesis examiners shows that one of the reasons they agree to examine in the first place is ‘interest’. Examiners want to learn about new developments or what is happening in an adjacent field. If you think about it for a moment, this means that you are giving a gift to the examiner. I love giving gifts! When I get excited about giving the gift of writing I will do it.

2) Other people have so much to say

Have you gone onto those online databases lately? Oh my Lord! The amount of stuff you could read is infinite. Well – nearly. Many now have “‘if you like this you may like…” recommendation engines, which only makes the problem of obsessively collecting articles but not actually reading them worse.

Recently I did a back of the envelope calculation of the number of articles written each year, based on the latest estimate of the number of academic journals in the world. Assuming each of those only has 2 issues a year with 4 articles in it (and many publish much more than this), I get a total of around 362,400 papers.

Even a tiny field like mine – research education – can have a LOT of literature. When we had a new staff member arrive last year it took her weeks, reading full time, to get her head around the major themes. And that doesn’t count all the adjacent fields such as adult learning, peer to peer learning, informal learning, academic writing support, to name but a few, which are relevant to our work as research education scholars.

It takes a long time to accept that there is no way you are going to be able to read it all. Then you have the next problem: what do you have to say that hasn’t already been said? Sometimes it can feel like you are drowning in a sea of squabbling voices; other times you can get so caught up in the ideas of another person that it’s hard to feel like you have any of your own.

This is a difficult problem and one which I don’t think really has a cure. The only thing I’ve found that works is to close your eyes (so to speak) and just start writing . You will find that you have ideas and opinions inside you somewhere. That’s why I force myself to stand at the end of the writing high diving board and just jump off.

3) Writing can be boring.

There were about 30,000 words of my thesis which were excruciating for me to write because, not to put too fine a point on it, they were dull. These words were describing data I had collected and providing basic interpretations; the guts of the thesis really, but to me it felt like eating dry toast. There was a lot of unpleasant and unproductive chewing. Knowing whole days were going to be swallowed up by this was depressing. It got to the point where I would do anything – ANYTHING – to avoid it.

How do you get around this problem? Well, watching Mr Thesis Whisperer, who is a big World of Warcraft fan, helped. A lot of WOW involves doing mundane ‘errands’ in order to build your character’s powers and talents. It’s boring and repetitious but you have to do it to get the ‘pay off’ of battling and beating the Bosses when you go off on Raids (sometimes I worry how much of my brain is taken up with WOW knowledge. And I don’t even play . Mr Thesis Whisperer calls this ‘grinding’ – which is a perfect way to describe the ‘dry toast’ section of my thesis.

Mr Thesis Whisperer doesn’t love grinding, but he sticks at it for amazingly long periods of time because he knows there will be a pay off. Finishing is probably too abstract a pay off to help you through your thesis, although it may work if you are close to the end. It’s better, I reckon, to think about more immediate ways you can get a pay off.

I used to work on my writing in the mornings and have the afternoon off before heading back into more writing in the evening. That afternoon off was filled with stuff I wanted to do : coffee with friends, a visit to the art gallery, shopping for new shoes – you get the idea. I made a deal with myself that the afternoon off was only allowed if I did my grinding in the morning. Giving myself a reward which is immediate and tangible makes me write.

So I’m wondering: why do you sometimes hate writing? What do you do to get over it?

How to write 1000 words a day (and not go bat shit crazy)

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You Hate Your Writing? That’s a Good Sign!

By Jane Friedman | February 25, 2011 | 57 Comments

Every successful writer has had to overcome that feeling. It’s an important feeling. It’s a valid feeling. And if a writer doesn’t have that feeling (at some point), I get worried.

It’s the Ira Glass principle: You have to produce a lot of crap—stuff that you know is crap—before you can produce anything good. If you haven’t watched Glass’s series on storytelling on YouTube , be sure to set aside 15 minutes to do so. It’ll be the best 15 minutes you ever spent on learning about the craft.

Glass says something critical in Part 3 that I wish every writer knew and understood:

The first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good. It’s not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambitions, but it’s not that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer. Your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you. You can tell that it’s still sort of crappy. A lot of people never get past that phase.

Most of the writers I meet are in this phase, and for much longer than a couple years. Some of us take more time to develop our skills since we may not have consistent, focused, or quality time to practice. (By the way, this is one of the reasons that creative writing programs can be useful—you have dedicated time to produce crap!)

Unfortunately, writers in the depths of this “crap phase” will often wonder if it’s worth their time to continue.

That struggle—that feeling that you’re wasting your time—is a sign that you’re probably on the right path. But most people quit, not realizing that nearly every writer who does excellent work went through a phase of years where they had really good taste, but they produced total crap.

What’s most important is that you can perceive that gap—that gap between what you know is quality and the lesser quality you achieve—and that you understand that gap is temporary. You do get better.

That’s not to say you become less critical of your work. Great writers will always be critical of their own work because they have good taste. It doesn’t get any easier, as just about every successful author will tell you.

But that’s not a reason to quit.

Photo courtesy Flickr’s *_Abhi_*

Jane Friedman has more than 20 years in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media and the future of authorship. She’s the co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet , the essential industry newsletter for authors. You can find out more about her consulting services and online classes at her website, JaneFriedman.com .

57 Comments

Cool stuff, Jane. Thanks for sharing your insights. :)

That’s the phase I’ve been in for a while now. Sigh. Ok. Will keep at it, despite fear and anxiety.

Thank you, Jane.

This seems to be a theme in the blogosphere today, and it can’t come at a better time for me. I’m in the doldrums and need to remind myself that every word counts, even the ones I delete.

Great post!

It’s always nice to have a reminder like this.

I think this is my favorite bit:

But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer. Your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you. You can tell that it’s still sort of crappy.

What a doubled-edged sword!

I like this article, Jane.

Definitely going to check out the video. Question – Even in a Creative Writing Group, when will you really know when your ‘crap’ stops?

I agree with having dedicated time to purge it from your system (never thought of it this way) but without a pro giving you the North-South or East-West, I’m not convinced you pull out of the rut.

Just a thought. I understand the importance of writing constantly and consistently. If it’s the practice that matters, then we’re good!

Thank you Jane for giving me my aha moment…the past five years suddenly make a lot more sense to me.

I hate that stage! But the way you put it, it’s a necessary part of growth, kind of like the ‘terrible twos’ for kids.

Sometimes I think of those early writing efforts as the first batch of pancakes: they taste pretty good, but they’re unevenly cooked. And you might eat ’em yourself, but you’d never serve them to company. . .

I have what is perhaps a unique problem that relates to this. My first MS took me several years, and I came to know it was crap. I set about trying to polish it up, and, at the behest of a few close readers (read: family), I sent it out to a group of beta-readers. Then: mixed results, several major rewrites, second group of beta-readers, rounds of rejections from agents and publishers. Time to give up, right? Move on. Shelve it.

I did. Embarked on a new WIP last year. Since then, a funny thing started happening, mostly due to the e-reader revolution. The beta-readers and friends who supported the first work started telling others about. Since it was so easy to format in a PDF and send to these readers trickling in, I did. Now I’m getting more positive feedback then ever. Yet, I still look back and cringe.

The question becomes, ‘when do you leave a manuscript behind?’ The changes in the market have me wondering about trying yet another rewrite. I believe in the story, just know the writing still needs work. Is it healthy to linger over it? Am I still growing as a writer? Or am I just crazy? (Oh crap, nobody answer that, please.) These are things I’m struggling with this winter, and just continue to let them simmer (fester?), while still moving ahead with WIP(2).

I love your comment. Too true, when do you leave a MS behind? Amazing what we feel is not good enough, yet others, it fills the void in their lives. I guess it’s not doodies afterall

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jane Friedman, ThereseWalsh, Andi Newton, SarahG, Meredith Cole and others. Meredith Cole said: RT @JaneFriedman: Do you hate your writing? That's a good sign. My guest post at Writer Unboxed: https://tinyurl.com/4ts5ur9 […]

Thanks, Jane, it’s encouraging to read that you feel as I do, that it can take a very long time to get through the crap-phase. Your words give hope that we will get there, though, because “we have taste” and know what good writing is. That has been my belief and my hope, that practice will make (maybe not perfect but) better! The YouTube video was very helpful and I will be watching it again, taking better notes the next time.

This is kind of a “good news, bad news” thing. LOL I have good taste, but my work doesn’t. :)

Actually, with any creative endeavor, you have to “get the ugly out”. It’s okay, though, because it gets you started, and it’s the stuff you’re going to eventually discard. The important thing is that you’re working and creating. That other stuff? It’s the warmup.

I hated my current WIP, but now that I’m doing the final read-through, I’m seeing that there are places where I did something right, and I’m even enjoying the story. And my mom is reading an ARC of my May release, and she says, “every book gets better and better.” (And she’s definitely not a critic. She’s an “I like it/I don’t like it” kind of reader.)

ALL growth (physical, emotional, spiritual, social, cognitive, professional, intellectual…) requires some discomfort. Knowing your work isn’t good enough feels like your skin peeling away! But it has too in order for a new skin to grow (is it possible to be TOO thick-skinned?) If you find yourself 100% satisfied, you are not growing.

Thanks for this post. It really hits home and re-emphasizes why I do the things I do. There is a purpose.

@Brandon: There are a few signs that your “crap” is abating. When you receive very encouraging rejections. When agents/editors reject you, but ask to see the next work. (They can see that you’re on the verge of non-crappiness.) When you realize that what you’re writing in your group is the best of the group, and you actually need to find a new group to challenge you. Or when you stop with the groups all together, and find 1 or 2 trusted peers and/or mentors. That’s usually what happens with most experienced and published writers.

@Vaughn: This is definitely an intriguing phenomenon the digital revolution has brought us. Even less-than-great work can find some measure of success if we can find the right readers for it.

If revising the manuscript again would help you grow as a writer, I’m all for it. If you’re not sure if it would contribute to growth (or if you feel tired just thinking of a revision), then it’s probably best to abandon it. Use your own enthusiasm as a measuring stick.

I see nothing wrong with allowing that manuscript (unrevised) provide enjoyment to your already devoted readers, and letting it stand as an important part of your earlier work that people may choose to read … or not.

Love this. :)

I’ve always had a good sense of when my writing just doesn’t measure up. And that happened a whole lot in the earlier years of my writing. It often felt like I had the Mona Lisa in my head, but my drawing came out as a stick figure.

I’ve gotten better over the years, but there’s always some place in my work that I read and say, “Yeah, that’s not cutting it.”

But for all the sweat and angst I go through when trying to make those parts better, there is no better feeling in the world than that “aha” moment when it all comes together. That moment when everything finally works right, and your stick figure comes out with that Mona Lisa smile.

I love writing – even when I hate it!

Phew. I totally agree. And even once you get past that “crap” phase, there’s still a lot of it! Some (much?) of it even slips into published books….

[…] this morning I came across this post atWriter Unboxed about not giving up if you hate your writing. The first couple years that you’re making stuff, […]

My struggle is trusting my taste to know when I’ve matured from crap to quality. Although I’ve been writing for years, I rarely finished anything till NaNoWriMo last year. Part of the deal for doing NaNoWriMo was that I promised my hubby I would actually try to get published this time (and he was fixing dinner and chasing kids), so I’m following through by researching agents and markets, and using readers before doing at least one edit. But although I love my story, I still have that nagging doubt that maybe it really is crap, and maybe I haven’t yet “paid my dues” with all the unfinished work over the past years.

I’m definitely still writing crap. It’s becoming better crap, but you know, crap is crap. Good to know I’m on the right track. :) Thanks for the encouragement!

It’s good to know I’m not the only one that goes through this…. and on your suggestion, I went to youtube and watched the Ira Glass series. There was so much good stuff there, but I think what I liked most was what he said about: (paraphrasing here..) if you do it enough, then the work you do will live up to your ambitions. And then you’ll be a warrior and you’ll be fierce! Love that!

Thanks for that article. I’ve been bathing in this not so nice feeling for the last few months. It feels good to hear someone who has witnessed the success of many writers say that it’s a mandatory passage.

The best thing I have for me is my grit and my determination to succeed so I’m happy it’s an asset after all and not just a mild form of mental disease. Your words hit home this friday ma’am.

Thank you for this. Just…thanks.

Had to chuckle…I’m in the first draft stage of a sequel and I’m trying to plow through, knowing that much of what is on the page is crap-ola.

But if I may hit you with a crap-inspired metaphor, I’m hoping the first draft manure is just the *fertilizer* for what gets sown in the second draft, and what will blossom in the third, fourth, and fifth drafts… (hee!)

Anne! Love your metaphor. I have a feeling I’m going to have a bumper crop if that’s the case.

Great post, Jane! I needed to hear this as I am revising my first draft. I am using a very large shovel. ;)

Awesome article!

I think that not only do our careers have a crap phase, but every manuscript does, too. (Depending on how you write, of course.) I’m experimenting with just drafting to get the story out and not worrying about the quality this time around. Next draft, fill in the blanks: make sure there aren’t any gaping plot holes, shore up character motivations, add missing settings and physical actions, ratchet up the tension where necessary. (Okay, that’s several drafts.) Then worry about lyrical, fresh writing.

Every first draft has at least a little room for improvement, right?

That first book I wrote 5 years ago will never, ever see the light of day, except to be raided for a few plot points or characters. My second and third books I just indie published, after a long enough time away from them to cut 20,000 words out of each and a complete rewrite for both. Right now I’m working on my fourth book and my 7th simultaneously and there’s something really heartening about how much less work the 7th needs for the same stage in the process.

Every day is an opportunity for growth . . .

Thanks, Jane, for encouraging us writers–we need it! I’ve just recently had to put away my crappy first novel and move on to the next one, which is just so infinitely better that it makes me feel really good.

Thanks for this. I feel like the queen of encouraging rejections lately, which of course is discouraging in its own way.

I finally have enough distance from my first ms that it might be fun to give it a massive rewrite and update, see if I can transform the moderately crappy into something shiny, new and enticing.

I may suffer from the opposite syndrome. I never think my writing is crap. That may stem from the fact that I started my writing career in advertising and my writing, from the very beginning, was not only not crap, it was frequently the best in whatever agency I worked for. The accolades flowed, the sales sold.

Now I write novels. And I still like my writing. So do others, pros even. A novel I subsequently self-published received praise for the writing from top agents (they didn’t have to say anything). Unfortunately, it was a little too non-genre to induce representation.

You say that if a writer doesn’t have that (my writing is crap) feeling (at some point), you get worried. Should I be worried? Or just keep writing until I produce the story that someone finally agrees will sell.

I look at my old stuff and see immediately that the craft and storytelling can be improved–but crap? Naw. Just a a few levels lower on the learning curve than I am now.

Great post! Explains why I completely loathed the manuscript I completed a couple of years ago. It was the first one I’d written in over 20 years. Also thanks for sharing Ira’s videos. I look forward to watching them.

Great post! I’m echoing the last poster. I just re-visited an old short story and found so much to correct. I guess I’m getting better, and I’m sure down the road a bit more, I’ll look back and find more that can be improved.

Ah! It was crap all along…and I thought it was a string of beautiful pearls! I look back now on my first novel, and realize just how delusional I’d been! I have a second multiple pov novel too, that’s gotten a mix of good responses and a few luke warm as well. So, recently I set aside my current WIP and was really in a state of doubt. But deep inside, I know this is the one that’ll work. Looks like it’s time to give up the drama and just get back in the chair.

I am newbie into the world of writing. Completed my first short fiction story today morning.

I know I don’t like some of my writing. I feel it is crap. I wonder will audience receive me if I write the crap? While reading a book, I always delivered judgement onto it like boring, interesting, …

But I never hate my work. I just don’t like some part of it. I must love my work then only I will be able to improve it.

with warm regards arandomarticle.blogspot.com

I don’t know how many people would hate their writing AS they’re writing. I think it’s more common to see the flaws after you get some distance. The stories I wrote 15 years ago— I thought they were great while I was writing them. But I look back on them now and cringe at how bad they were.

Brilliant! But then truth always is. I so love the idea of “killer taste” lurking in the background and acting as a kind of/sort of guiding light for the writer trying to get through the “crap.”

Like I said: Brilliant!

Well, I feel much better now. Thanks for the insight.

I enjoyed this article so much. It made me realize why I am so absorbed by the flaws in my unfinished novel.

I would go through writing a chapter and end up throwing it on my waste basket mountain along with its other unborn siblings. I hated my outputs all the time, and had a hard time moving the story along.

But I guess, thats what growing up is all about. Making mistakes as a stepping stone to higher levels of skill.

Thank you so much Jane for this, and I hope I would be able to get past the crap phase of my life soon.

I hope I’m not too late with a comment on this post: what a great word! I’ve seen the Ira Glass videos, and they’re definitely worth the time. It took me three years to confess that I didn’t know how to write, then another four to figure it out without going back to school (absolutely out of the question). Then another three to finish and polish my first novel. Out of all the advice I received from books or others, the best was this: read good writers. Besides reading them, I tried to take their craft apart, examining their choice of words and how they were arranged on the page to create not only meaning but rhythm. Learned a lot–and finally got beyond the temptation to quit.

Love your blog, Jane. I tell every writer I meet to check it out. Thanks for the time and obvious effort you put into it.

Wooow this just defined the first five years of my writing career. I worked on this fantasy romance book for so long that it just lost its essence, and it’s become to thin to touch.

Now I’ve moved onto a drama story and I haven’t looked back ever since!

Great article. Overcoming ‘the fear’ of what you’ve written is a big thing in my opinion, as even if you ‘hate’ it – doesn’t necessarily make it ‘bad’. But if you’ve poured self-editing on self-editing and still can’t get a particular story where you want it, then I agree it may be time to start with a fresh page. Thanks, enjoyed reading it. Adam

Oh, and the question for me is if you’re not happy with something would you want other people to know you wrote it? Probably not! #nevergiveup #keepwriting…!

Jane, thanks for this! A brilliant article, and just what I needed to read today. I hate my current WIP, and have spent weeks agonising over whether there’s any point in carrying on with it. I have been torn between deleting it, or putting the doldrums down to yet another bout of procrastination. Having read this, I think it’s time I got some work done….

Perfect!! I’m encouraged by this. Thank you. I’ve come close recently to signing with an agent. Just didn’t work out. I feel like your third and fourth paragraph. Do I continue? Will I ever produce the ‘wow’ factor they want? (Because I was told I had some wow factor.) Blah…. You’ve set me back on track with this. Thank you, again.

Fantastic post. It’s absolutely true. When I first started writing, every word was precious gold. Then I learned more and everything I wrote was drek. I’m getting better, but learning how much we really do have to learn is an important step.

I really, really, REALLY liked this post. Thank you so much for sharing it.

[…] how hating your writing is a good sign […]

[…] right now I’m going through what Laura has told me are growing pains. Again. This happens every time I come across a new project. Every time I change mediums (from […]

[…] The Mush Factor Jon Sprunk – The Journey from Seedling to Bookshelf Jane Friedman – You Hate Your Writing? That’s a Good Sign! Sonya Chung – Writing Across Gender (This essay quotes the sex scene from BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, […]

Thank you very much.

I’m always in the phase. Because I always think that I am writing crab. So, I always quit.

Oooooooops! It’s not a crab but crap :(

Wow! I’m so glad that you wrote this! I just finished my first novel and as I read through it I am devastated because I think it is just awful! I am so dissapointed. It is very tempting to quit, but I gues I will reconsider. Thank you.

I love this info, I am yet to watch the You Tube but have it stored away.

You have nailed this. I have been re-reading my work for subject matter and I see a marked improvement on what I think is okay, good and great. But what I see more so is that I am getting comfortable with being uncomfortable with writting.

Before I begin a project, I could near say I feel sick and every part of my body wants to reject this and not even start. But once I begin, it is like I see how wonderful the process is, how I do love it and how the struggle is just the beginning.

Oh I still struggle with confidence but I am always trying to better that too. Because I am now seeing think alot of my end products when I put the full 100% in are something I should be proud of.

Thank you for this. I really needed to see this today. This novel that I am editing is almost complete crap. I just haven’t gotten to the story until way too late and not enough POVs, so I’m having to put them in – arghhh. I’m thinking of cutting half the novel and I may well do! So glad I read this. Thank you !

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K.L.Wightman

Let's Talk Content Marketing & Creative Writing

The Perfect Editing Guide for Writers Who Hate to Edit

3 Comments on The Perfect Editing Guide for Writers Who Hate to Edit

Hate editing? So do I. That’s why I created a step-by-step editorial guide for writers (like me) who put off editing.

Tackle these approachable, non-intimidating steps so that you edit your work and (finally) get it published!

The fun part’s over. The weeks (or months) it took to get your story out of your mind and down on paper (or onto a digital file) was a blissfully stressful time that has come to the end.

Now it’s time for Phase 2—it’s time to edit.

**insert exaggerated groan here**

I’m not going to lecture you on why editing your work is important before you shop it around. You know this. I know this. We still hate editing our work.

And you can’t let your first draft sit in your drawer forever. You wrote it because you want to share it with an audience. There’s a critical message sandwiched between those pages that needs to get out.

Then it’s settled. You’ll edit your work.

But where do you begin? Does it ever end? Hopefully by the end of this blog post, you won’t fear the editing process nearly as much as you do at this very moment.

Let’s just assume that you’ve stepped away from your writing.

Every blog post you’ll read about editing your writing recommends this as a first step, so I’m not going to spend time blogging a paragraph on why you need to a break from your work and how fresh eyes on your story is more beneficial than jumping in to make corrections.

7 Ways to Stay Positive While You Write via KLWightman.com

You already know this.

You’re reading this blog post because you’ve put off the editing process. Understandable. It’s the most excruciating yet humbling experience you’ll experience as a writer—well, in the presence of just yourself.

We won’t touch the mortifying rejection phase today. Or ever.

You’re ready to swallow your pride and let your red pen stain your first draft. Here are the steps to take on the editing process without feeling overwhelmed or hopeless.

Disclaimer : Plan on reading your story over and over again. Every step in this editing guide requires it. But that’s easy. You know how to read. Already not a scary requirement!

Step One: Edit Just The Small Stuff

To complete this step, gather:

a whatever-ink-color-suits-your-fancy pen

This is what your inner editor does to your writing

Time to test the waters. Since you did take a break, read through your story once from start to finish. When you see a glaring grammatical error, use your red pen and fix it.

The other pen is to only be used on your notepad. When your inner editor nitpicks at what’s lacking in your story, from character development and scenery description to plotting and sentence structure, write it on this notepad.

Everything on this notepad is what you’ll tackle later, not today. This is merely the gathering phase. Think of it as your upcoming to-do list.

Step Two: Edit For Narrative Arc

I’m sure you know a basic plot structure:

Inciting Incident
Rising Action
Falling Action

Just because we know it doesn’t mean it was conveyed correctly when writing your first draft.

5 Steps to Plotting Out Character Development via KLWightman.com

So this step is to make sure your story has a strong plot arc. If not, this is the time to make a plan to fix it.

I scavenged through a lot of blog posts claiming they were the go-to for narrative arc, but this blog post is the best example I could find that details exactly what should happen at each phase of your story.

If your story arc is sloppier than what you find in the above referenced link, then it’s time to make a game plan. Write down ways you can shape your story to match each point of the narrative arc.

Then tackle each way, one by one.

This may take some time. If this overwhelms you, tackle one way to improve your plot arc each day.

Once you reach the end of this to-do list, read through your story again. If your story still lags in narrative arc, keep brainstorming ways and writing in solutions into your story until it matches up.

In this phase, your sentences don’t have to be epic. You’re simply trying to get the basic structure in place. Leave the beautifying for the next step.

Step Three: Edit Chapter by Chapter

What Your Story is Probably Missing (and You Don't Even Know It) on KLWightman.com

Now that your story has a strong narrative arc in place, it’s time to pretty it up a bit. Or a lot, depending how big of a wrecking ball you used during the last step.

Focus on editing one chapter a week. That’s plenty of time to tighten up sentences, deepen descriptions and sharpen dialogue.

Remember that to-do list you made during Step One? Now is the time to pull it out and see if anything listed applies to the chapter you’re editing. If so, make sure you address it so that you can check it off your list.

Then next week, move on to the next chapter. Easy, right? It’s like you’re back in your glory days of writing your story.

Step Four: Complete the First Final Read-Through

Editing vs Revising: The Real Difference blog post via KLWightman.com

Now all you have to do is read your story from start to finish! If you see something worth editing, fix it. If not, pat yourself on the back.

You may actually want to read your story once or twice more to make sure everything is as you want it.

Whew! That’s it, right? Not quite.

Step Five: Share Your Story

Before you submit your work, it never hurts to have some eyes that aren’t yours read your story. They most likely will see something that you don’t.

When Should You Share Your Writing? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

Ask them for their feedback. Write down what they say. Then don’t look at that list until tomorrow.

Review that list the next day. Does their feedback have merit? If so, create an approachable to-do list on how to fix your story. Write down exact chapters where the changes need to be applied for each actionable task so that you’re not lost or stressed when it comes to rewriting these sections.

Then, tackle each actionable task one by one.

Sounds simpler than it is. Commit to tackling just one per writing session. If one task is too big, then break it down into smaller, more attainable goals so that you feel a sense of accomplishment by the end of your editing session.

Step Six: The Final-Final Read-Through

I swear it’s the final time you need to read your story from start to finish. By now, you’re (hopefully) happy with the state of your story and you’re just checking for minor errors.

Step Seven: Put That Story Down

Here's why I'm okay that I'm not published (yet)

The editing process is over! At least for now.

What happens next is up to you. Self-publish your writing. Find a literary agent. Submit your writing to a publishing house or literary magazine for publication.

The decision is yours. This is where I leave you.

How do you make the editing process a pain-free experience? Share you strategy in the comments section below.

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IMAGES

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VIDEO

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Things you can never hate!!

COMMENTS

The most painful lessons I've learned about creative writing
The most painful lessons I've learned about creative writing. Advice. Just a heads up: This is highly subjective. I'm no bestseller, just someone who's been trying to work on writing/editing every day for years. It's also not meant to cover everything I've learned along the way - only the parts that were hard to accept at first.
I FUCKING HATE MY CREATIVE WRITING CLASS : r/rant
Three or four of them that all tie together at the end. The story itself can be dumb. I can't relate on this level but I'm a sophomore having to take creative writing as my optional elective. This is the place known as the dump zone, anyone who didn't make the cut for other electives get dumped here hence the dump zone.
in a creative writing class right now; is it normal to feel ...
If this is an intro to creative writing course or any other lower level class, then there's an chance the professor is just being overly kind. That sucks if it's the case. Honestly though, I've never been in a writing course where everything was "positive" about any of the students' works.
Is it okay to like creative writing but hate my creative ...
Write down turns of phrase or quotes that interest you. Use photo prompts, if something catches your attention. When you have to write in class, pull it out and pick one that speaks to you that day. Form the HABIT of writing when called to, because it will serve you well in the long run. 2.
What to Do When You Hate Your Writing
The writing is awful…or at least to you it is." Feeling like this can mean a number of different things. We'll review the three most common below. 3 Reasons Writers Hate Their Own Writing. If you're feeling like you hate your writing right now and you're an experienced writer, most likely it's because of one of the three reasons ...
3 Practical Writing Tips From Someone Who Hates Writing
As I've mentioned, I hate writing; I need all the encouragement I can get to participate. My next bit of advice, therefore, shouldn't surprise you: #3: Make your writing a game. Writing is already a kind of competition with yourself. Therefore, gamification just provides a more formal framework for the process.
It's Okay to Have a Love/Hate Relationship With Your Writing
Katie Williams's short fiction has appeared in The Atlantic, American Short Fiction, Prairie Schooner, Subtropics, and elsewhere. Williams earned her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches writing and literature at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Why It's Okay to Hate Your Writing
A little hate for your work can be healthy. It causes you to pay attention, to analyze, and to stay humble enough to realize you need more than one draft (or three . . . or twenty). It causes you to strive to be better. And it makes the days you don't hate it that much sweeter.
The Truth About Writing: Why Some People Hate Writing
The Teaching Point. Say, "Here are five reasons I've noticed students might not like writing: 1. lack of structure 2. fear of making embarrassing mistakes 3. boredom 4. lack of audience 5. answers are unclear. 6. grades. Today you will learn some ways to overcome these barriers and keep writing.
How to Get Into a Creative Flow When You Don't Feel Like Writing
To establish a creative writing flow, you need A) ideas, B) the feeling of writing, aka some sort of motivation, and C) time to write. All these factors combined result in a creative flow and ...
I'm a Writer but I Hate Actually Writing. What's Wrong with Me?
For many writers—especially intuitive writers—this is the part that feels like torture. And "torture" covers a wide range of feelings. For some writers, the act of writing feels boring and tedious. For others it feels scary and dreadful. And for some of us, it just plain feels hard. Either you can't think of anything good to write ...
creative writing
1. To be a great writer, you have to read a lot, unless you are that exceptionally rare savant that has an intrinsic understanding of how things you write are perceived by people who read your work. Personally, reading is hard for me, for similar reasons previously stated.
What Do You Do When You Hate ALL Your Ideas?
Write whatever you think, even if it has no relation to your story, even if you'll have to delete everything later. For example, if you hate your story idea, write about why you hate it. If you can't even focus on your story, write about whatever you're thinking. You can call this morning pages or free writing but in the end you're searching ...
I Dropped Out of My MFA in Creative Writing Program: Here's What I
I was admitted to the graduate program of the University I was wrapping up undergrad at mainly on the recommendation of my creative nonfiction (CNF) professor. It was my last semester of undergrad.I had a bad case of senioritis, but I always showed up with new creative work in hand to workshop and participate in my creative writing classes.
Workshop: A Rant Against Creative Writing Classes
One day, you're a tree monkey—the next day, you're a Truffaut-quoting barista at a café ( not a Starbucks). But something goes awry when applying this model of learning to creative writing. Specifically, the workshop promotes the idea to young writers that their writing is required reading, that an audience is guaranteed.
Top 5 Reasons Students Hate to Write
The Write Foundation provides the tools students need to make essay writing a concrete endeavor which produces confident writers, and in turn, better writers. "Writing is too hard.". For many students, writing requires too much extra effort. Reality check: any major breakthrough in brain development takes extra effort.
The Thesis Whisperer
Even when I hate it. 3) Writing can be boring. There were about 30,000 words of my thesis which were excruciating for me to write because, not to put too fine a point on it, they were dull. These words were describing data I had collected and providing basic interpretations; the guts of the thesis really, but to me it felt like eating dry toast.
You Hate Your Writing? That's a Good Sign!
Glass says something critical in Part 3 that I wish every writer knew and understood: The first couple years that you're making stuff, what you're making isn't so good. It's not that great. It's trying to be good, it has ambitions, but it's not that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer.
i hate creative writing reddit
Are you feeling stuck in a creative rut? Are you looking for ways to jump-start your writing process? One of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing is to start with a blank writing page.... Advertising on Reddit can be a great way to reach a large, engaged audience. With millions of active users and page views per month, Reddit is one of the more popular websites for discussions online.
The Perfect Editing Guide for Writers Who Hate to Edit
Step One: Edit Just The Small Stuff. To complete this step, gather: a red pen. a whatever-ink-color-suits-your-fancy pen. a notepad. Time to test the waters. Since you did take a break, read through your story once from start to finish. When you see a glaring grammatical error, use your red pen and fix it.

What to Do When You Hate Your Writing

Two Times When It’s Normal for Writers to Hate Their Own Writing

New Writers Need to “Fill the Gap”

Experienced Writers Go Through Periods of Hating Their Work

3 Reasons Writers Hate Their Own Writing

1. The Writer is Tired

2. The Writer Knows Something Isn’t Working

3. The Writer is Allowing Self-Doubt to Rule

No Matter What, Writers Must Finish

It’s Okay to Have a Love/Hate Relationship With Your Writing

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I’m a Writer but I Hate Actually Writing. What’s Wrong with Me?

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The Perfect Editing Guide for Writers Who Hate to Edit

Let’s just assume that you’ve stepped away from your writing.

Step One: Edit Just The Small Stuff

Step Two: Edit For Narrative Arc

Step Three: Edit Chapter by Chapter

Step Four: Complete the First Final Read-Through

Step Five: Share Your Story

Step Six: The Final-Final Read-Through

Step Seven: Put That Story Down

How do you make the editing process a pain-free experience? Share you strategy in the comments section below.

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