Sometimes, everything aligns nicely in your writing life. You're on a roll with your novel, and you get some great comments on your blog, and a new client emails you to say they'd love you to freelance for
them...
... but (sadly!) there are also times when everything seems to be against you.
Perhaps your short story got rejected -- again.
Maybe someone left a really nasty one-star review on your novel (and deep
down you can't help wondering if all your four- and five-star reviewers were deluded all along).
Or perhaps your computer crashed and you lost half a day's hard work.
In practical terms, all of these might be fairly easily surmountable. You could send out that short story again, you could seek out more
reviews of your novel (and hopefully bump the average star-count back up), and you could rewrite those lost pages.
The emotional impact, though, can be a lot harder to deal with.
Here are three ways you can pick yourself up:
#1: Allow Yourself to Feel What You Feel
Sometimes, when I get upset or angry, I tell myself I shouldn't feel that way. That snarky comment on my blog or that so-so review on Goodreads shouldn't be a big deal.
But guess what? You and I are absolutely entitled to feel
the way we feel. Sometimes, acknowledging, "I'm upset and it's OK to feel that way" makes it easier to accept it and move on.
#2: Ask Yourself What You Need Right Now
What would help you to feel better? It might be something that seems small and silly, like buying your favourite chocolate
bar -- but if it helps, it helps! (And personally, I think chocolate can make most things better.)
Maybe you need a hug from a loved one, or you need some time to play around with your writing without any pressure on yourself to "produce" something, or you need to go for a brisk walk, or you need to listen to some really loud angry music. (I find that if chocolate just won't cut it, Metallica
usually will. ;-))
#3: Do Something (However Small) to Move Forward
You don't have to move on immediately. It's okay to be sad/angry/grumpy for a while. But if you want to feel better, doing something practical (even if it's a tiny thing) can really help.
For instance, if your computer crashed horribly and ate a chapter of your novel, a small practical step might be to back up what remains (!) and to jot down a few notes about what you can remember of the material you lost.
If you got a one-star review on your novel, a practical step might be to list three people who you could
invite to review it (and who you hope will enjoy it and say nice things).
There will always be setbacks in the writing life, some small, some big. Don't let them derail you completely: keep on writing. There's always a way forward.
