Writing When Your Mojo Took a Hike

My mojo has taken a hike. There's a good reason for it. My husband, Scouse Lad, has been rushed into hospital with chest pains and breathing difficulties. With the whole lockdown and CoViD-19 I'm not allowed to go with him, so I sit patiently (not really) at home, waiting to hear how things are going. So I can be forgiven for losing my mojo.

But for me, having no mojo, that's a time to write, particularly with these circumstances. I need a distraction. So write I will. The reason for this, I find that when I'm struggling to write I need to simply let the words flow. It doesn't have to be good writing, it simply has to be words. I can go back later and edit. It really doesn't matter if this is an Eric Morecambe/Andre Previn moment - remember that? In this context it's 'all the right words, just not necessarily in the right order".

Did you know that editing is writing? I heard that on a podcast and realised that I'm someone who uses editing as a way to get into my writing just about everyday. I'll revisit my work from the day before and spend 10 minutes tidying it up before I start on a new section of my novel. For me, it's a great way to ease my brain into the writing process.

With blogposts, I find that if I just write something down, I don't need to publish it straight away, so I can come back and edit it when my mojo walks back in through the writing room door.

When your mojo next takes a hike, try one of these three methods:

Sit and write a stream of consciousness. Whatever is in your head. Just let it flow through your fingers and onto the page. You can edit it tomorrow.
Go back over something you wrote previously and edit it for 10 minutes. Then, when you feel like you have something new to write, just get on with it.
Set yourself a small target. I give myself 100 words. My usual for a day when I'm in work is between 500-1000 words. On a day off I generally write 1000-3000 words. Having a small target on difficult days gives you permission to stop. And if you exceed your target it gives you a small victory in your day.

Considering my mojo was off walking in The Lakes, I'm impressed with myself that I put this blogpost together. Not bad for a mojo-less day, huh?

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