Writing Through Illness and Pain (A Re-run)

I wrote this article a long time ago. Having just gone through a period of a psychological freeze, I thought it would be really cool to revisit it. Even I need to take my own advice sometimes. I tend to give good advice. And forget to follow it myself. I hope you enjoy this article. And I hope you'll find it useful.

"Get back on the horse" is the first part of the phrase, "Get back on the horse that bucked you." It means to see a failure, look at it, and try again. If you can't get back on a horse that bucked you, you'll never learn to ride.

What to do when you can’t push through. How to get back on the horse.

Everybody gets sick once in a while. Many of us have chronic conditions which may flare up and cause pain. What do writers do when they can’t push through illness or pain? How do writers stay focused on writing? What do they do when they've fallen off the horse?

I have a couple of chronic medical conditions which cause varying levels of discomfort, pain, and exhaustion. I have brain fog related to these conditions, so during a flare-up even if I’m not in pain, I can’t think well.

I am also a writer. I've recently had a flare-up and haven’t written much in the past few weeks. During this time I kept trying to push myself to write, to publish, to submit. I published a few pieces. They were shit. I will most likely delete them.

I was churning out shit because I was forcing myself. Nobody likes to be forced to do anything. Once I realized the why of the shit, I gave myself permission to not write at all. It is sometimes really hard to pick up where pain made me leave off.

My living relies on writing or publishing every day. Successful bloggers must keep churning out content or be forgotten. I had just given myself permission to not write. How would I churn out content?? I wished I could find a system that would help when I am in a flare-up.

Turns out I had the system all along. I just couldn’t remember. Brain fog.

The most obvious yet hardest thing for me to do is planning ahead. And yet, it is the first one on the list.

Plan ahead

This plan is different from my regular goals and plans. I think of this as an in-case-of-emergency-break-glass ax hanging on a wall. There if you need it, to be left alone if you don’t.

Write one more thing than your regular schedule call for. One more essay. One more chapter. One more verse or poem. Stick the one-more-thing in a draft folder to be used later. Within a year you have 365 things to choose from (plan way ahead).

It is incredibly difficult for me to hold on to a piece of writing that is good. If I like it, I want it out there NOW.

I must resist. I don’t like it but it is necessary.

I don’t necessarily know when a flare-up will hit or even what triggers it. If you are in a position to predict pain or illness, for example you know it will take you X amount of weeks to recover from surgery, you can also schedule publication. I’m sure there are apps for that. You might keep your scheduled publication times close to your regular schedule.

Have a writing and publishing schedule

If you don’t already have a writing schedule, it is a good idea to make one. It doesn’t matter whether your schedule is simply “write in the morning” or more complex and detailed “write 2000 words between 5 am and 2 pm”.

It doesn’t matter whether your publication schedule is specific “publish every Monday, Thursday, and Friday at 2 pm” or more general “publish once a day or once a week” as long as it is fairly consistent.

Pro tip: Readers like consistency. Horses like consistency.

When you are in pain or ill it helps a lot to stick as close to your schedule as possible. Even if you can’t think or are in too much pain to physically write, you can often take care of the “business of writing.” Spend your allotted time doing what you are able.

“Business of writing” is anything that has to do with your project. Researching your subject matter, looking at old photos, thinking about your work, organizing your writing space, computer, or file folder. Even reading your older stuff.

Be careful to not get entirely caught up in the business of writing, however.

Have you ever written a check to pay a bill, put it in the envelope, and addressed it only to forget to mail it? Your urge to pay the bill has been met. You feel done. You feel accomplished and you stop thinking about that bill.

The business of writing can easily derail you from actually writing. You’ve cleaned your desk and organized your file folders. You feel done. You feel accomplished and stop thinking about writing.

Taking care of the business of writing then becomes a habit. Actual writing falls by the wayside. It becomes very hard to start up again for some people. I believe this is why I resist giving myself permission to take a break. If I stop writing for a day I’ll never write again.

I have avoided this by keeping a journal.

Keep a journal

How is keeping a journal different from writing? It isn’t the act that is different. It is the type. A journal is completely personal. You can write horribly all day long in it. You can ramble and rant. Or you can do what I do when I am having a flare-up. “December 31-flare up. Can’t write.” Even this simple journal entry keeps me in the writing habit instead of the “business of writing” habit.

My journal often gives me great ideas for that “one more.”

Most likely writing 6 words leaves a big, block of free time on my writing schedule. I probably want to fill this time streaming Netflix or reading the latest Tony Bertauski novel. It would be totally relaxing, but also dangerous if I succumb. It would be mind-numbing. I’ll fall right off that damn horse.

**Edit: I often freeze in response to trauma. When I'm frozen, I can't even concentrate on reading, let alone writing. I do stream. And I will often get stuck for a week or more. If this happens to you, please give yourself a break and don't beat yourself up about it. We all have different ways of coping. Use whatever way works best for you.

Read about your subject

Before watching tv or reading excellent sci-fi, I might want to give my brain a boost. I’ll read something about my subject. Whether you are a blogger, novelist, poet, or memoirist you will have a main subject. Space, fermenting vegetables, vampires, unrequited love, baking, or parenting. Fill up that scheduled time by keeping your mind on your project.

There are other ways to keep the focus on your writing.

Take online classes

Find a subject close to your project and take a class. Take a class just on writing. Or get more specific. Writing memoir, poetry, fiction, etc. There are many free online classes and classes you can audit. Keep your brain geared to writing so you don’t fall off that horse. If you find you have already fallen, classes are a great way to hop back on.

Do writing exercises

You don’t have to take a formal class. When I get stuck for whatever reason, brain fog, illness, or writer’s block I find it helpful to do some 5-minute writing exercises. To keep my hand moving and my mind focused on writing.

Make up your own exercises or use some of mine. Write them in your journal, or a notebook. If you do my exercises, you’ll need to do them longhand. Whatever works for you.

Recycle content

Sometimes I am just too sick to do any of this. In which case, I recycle content. Don’t republish on your blog. Duplicate content on the internet is bad. Instead, call it an anniversary post/issue/book. A time capsule. A re-run. It's a good idea to make sure to change the title a bit for good SEO. Be sure to freshen up the content, too. Be careful to not get pinged for self-plagiarism. You can avoid this by including a link to your original content.

Here are my writing exercises in case you are interested:

https://read.cash/@JonicaBradley/this-5-minute-writing-exercise-will-make-you-a-better-writer-for-the-rest-of-your-life-a68870e9

https://read.cash/@JonicaBradley/part-2-of-the-5-minute-writing-exercise-2393b1f4

First and lead image license free from Unsplash