Whatever kind of writing project you're working on, there'll be moments when it's hard to just keep going.

Maybe you've drafted a short story but now you need to cut it down by a couple of hundred words to get it under the word limit for a competition.

Perhaps you're bogged down in the middle of writing a novel, and "The End" feels a very long way off.

It could be that it's hard to keep going with writing in general. You might be feeling like it's a whole lot of effort for something that may not pay off in the ways you want.

And yet...

At least part of you wants to carry on. You don't want to abandon your short story, give up on your novel, quit freelance writing, or delete your blog.

So how can you help yourself carry on?

#1: Give Yourself a Break

It's much better to take some time off from writing and reach your goal a little more slowly than to push yourself to keep going until the point where you're so sick of writing, you do give up.

Take a break! Go easy on yourself. Have some time off from writing and have a plan for when you're going to get started again.

#2: Focus on the Next Step

Don't think about the whole task ahead ("write entire novel" or "make enough money freelancing to quit day job"). Think about the very next step ("plan chapter 3" or "apply for one freelancing gig"). 

It's great to have big goals, but when you're struggling to keep going, make your goals small and very achievable. Look for something you could do in 15-30 minutes.

#3: Do Something to Lift Your Mood

If you're having a bad writing day, don't sit there at your computer, endlessly scrolling social media or news headlines while guilt-tripping yourself for not writing.

Instead, do something to give you a boost -- eat chocolate, watch an episode of a TV show you love, take a quick walk, whatever works for you

#4: Seek Out Support 

When you're struggling to write, it can be hard to reach out ... but chances are, you have people in your life who'd love to help. 

Maybe a friend could read over the chapters you've written so far and tell you what's working well. Or perhaps you could reach out within a Facebook group or other online community of writers to share that you're struggling: lots of people will be able to empathise and offer their support.

#5: Make Things Easier for Yourself

When you're struggling just to keep going, it might help to avoid putting in any unnecessary effort. Take the easy route, wherever you can, if the outcome's going to be much the same either way.

With your writing, that might mean using tools like Grammarly to help you edit, re-using an old blog post, asking a client for an extension on a deadline, or anything that could take the pressure off you a bit.

#6: Focus on What You Like About Writing

When I'm having a tough time, it's so easy to see writing as yet another thing on my to-do list. But if I think of it instead as something fun that I get to do (which it is!) then it's so much easier to keep going.

What is it that you love about writing? Perhaps you enjoy the magic of going from a blank page to a completed blog post out there in the world, or you love to create characters and watch them interact on the page.

#7: Remember That Starting is Often Hardest

When life is busy, I don't always feel like sitting at my computer and starting on my freelance tasks for the day. But that initial resistance vanishes fast as soon as I open up the document I need, and get going.

If you're feeling a lot of resistance to writing, don't try to conquer that resistance before you begin on a writing session. Instead, open the document, then tell yourself you're just going to write a sentence, or write for 3 minutes, or whatever works for you. Once you get going, you may find it's much easier to carry on than you thought it would be.

If you're struggling to keep on going, please know that I'm rooting for you! I'd love you to treat yourself with the kindness that you'd show a good friend. Take a break, do something fun, and give yourself small, easy goals to achieve. Break your writing down into little tasks. Even 10 minutes is well worth doing. Hang on in there ... one word at a time, you'll make it through.

Spotlight On: Time to Write (Free Mini-Ebook)

As a newsletter reader, you've got free access to my mini-ebook Time to Write. It's designed for both fiction and non-fiction writers, and covers practical ways to make more time to write, as well as tips on staying focused and solving common problems.

You can download Time to Write from the newsletter library of mini-ebooks, here:

aliventures.com/newsletter-secret

The password to enter the library is alinewsletter (all one word).

Ali