Let’s start with a website creation pro tip: When you create a new website, and you put forms on there for people to sign up for your newsletter or email you directly, TEST THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY WORK.

Because last week, I discovered that the reason our email list hasn’t had any new subscribers in a few months, and the reason nobody has emailed us through the website is because neither of those forms have worked! Even worse, they looked as though they worked if you were the one sending the message or signing up for the newsletter, but IT NEVER ACTUALLY CAPTURED YOUR DATA and therefore we never got any of the messages or subscription requests.

In the last few months if you tried signing up for Go Teen Writers Notes or emailing us a writing question, we didn’t get it! I’m so sorry. I’ve tested both forms out now, so they work.

The email form is toward the bottom of the homepage, so scroll to the bottom and you’ll see this:

Again, my apologies for if you’ve tried to get a hold of us through either of those channels!

Onto writing!

I live in Kansas City, and we’re having a winter like none I’ve ever lived through. It’s been one storm after another, and my kids have had 6 snow days over the last few weeks on top of being out for things like President’s Day and school conferences.

Now, I adore my kids. I mean, look at these sweet faces:

But I also adore writing, and my happy place is when I have designated writing time AND designated not-writing time for being with my family and taking care of stuff around the house.

Sometimes, like recently, life gets in the way of writing time, but frankly sometimes I’m the one who is in my way. Sometimes, nobody but me is stopping me from writing. If that makes you nod your head even a tiny bit, I want to explore some ways that I can be my own worst blockade for getting words on the page and talk about some tactics I’ve learned for overcoming them.

Blockade #1: I don’t know which writing project to prioritize.

In some seasons, this is easy to figure out. Like when I have a book due to a publisher. Then I know for sure what project takes priority!

But when you don’t have a deadline (which from my experience is most writers most of the time, even if you’re a published author) then these choices can feel a bit murkier. I’ve had lots of times where I’m making good progress on a book, but then hit a wall. Then I have to make the decision, “Do I push on, or do I write something else that I feel excited about?”

I’ve never written a book where I felt 100% motivated and excited every time I sat down to write. That kind of energy is difficult (dare I use the word impossible?) to maintain over an entire novel. So sometimes I really do just have to tell myself, “This book once felt as bright and shiny as that new idea, and I need to focus on this one right now. I bet once I start writing, I’ll start feeling more energy.”

That being said, if I’m really stuck on my work-in-progress but excited about a new idea, I’ll give myself a fixed amount of time to play with the new idea. (As a bonus, sometimes the time away helps me figure out the original story too.)

Blockade #2: This other thing sounds more fun.

We talk in our family about there being two types of fun.

Type 1 Fun is something that feels fun while you’re doing it. Watching a movie, taking a leisurely walk, going to the pool, playing video games, etc. It’s easy fun.

Type 2 Fun is something that maybe doesn’t feel fun in the moment or for the whole event, but it’s fun to have done it. A challenging hike, training for a half-marathon, reading a book that’s a bit above your reading-level. While there might be some enjoyment in the doing, most of the enjoyment comes after you’ve done it.

While writing sometimes falls into Type 1 Fun for me, especially if we’re talking about brainstorming or writing those first few chapters, most often writing feels like Type 2 Fun. Which isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy writing while I’m writing, because I do, but my brain is often more in the mood for Type 1 Fun.

Type 2 Fun refreshes my soul more than Type 1 Fun,. I’m always happy when I chose a Type 2 activity, but it can still be hard to remember in the moment.

Blockade #3: That’s not enough time to get any “real” writing done.

This is a big one for me because I’m at the place with writing where I have an office, a door, and designated writing hours. I forget sometimes that I could color outside the lines by bringing my laptop up to the kitchen and writing while I stir spaghetti sauce. I glorify those hours of time that I get to write, and I forget that investing those bits of time can add up too.

That’s my challenge to myself this next month, to choose writing even if I only have 5 minutes. I’m releasing a book March 5th, which means lots of writing-related commitments but not much actual writing time, plus my kids will be out of school for spring break. Large chunks of writing time will be hard to come by, and I’ve decided in advance that I’m going to instead approach my time as, “Where in my day can I fit in a little writing?”

I’ll check back in with you on March 25th about how this went. Do you have a writing challenge you want to issue yourself for the next month? What’s something that stops you from writing?