Should You Be Writing on Bad Days Too?

Featured Image Credit | Karl Melvin | thejournal.ie

Nothing feels better than getting stuck into stories, poetry, blogging, etc. than when the sun is out and when one’s mood shines just as bright. That’s when any motivation is truly at its peak. It feels like the best time to get anything done before something changes and throws everything off one aspect at a time.

But should feeling the complete opposite be enough to stop the gears from turning? Should you still write even when the sunshine is replaced by dark clouds and heavy rain?

My Opinion

Image Credit | Jules Epstein | www2.law.temple.edu

I once came across a quote post that read something along the lines of you will never finish anything you start if you only write on the days you feel good. At that point in time, I couldn’t disagree with it more. I can’t remember a good day where I wasn’t productive and more proud of my work. Everything flows so much better. The process feels more graceful. On the other side of the coin, my work is forced when I’m having my down days. Nothing clicks. And that’s when I do write on those gloomy days. I usually can’t bring myself to do as much as lift a pen or open the Notepad app on my phone. I also came across the following quote post recently:

I have an old blog post titled When You Can Call Yourself a Writer. That’s all you need to know to know that I can’t bring myself to believe that quote post. It comes across as overly harsh. You certainly don’t have to write every day regardless of your mood to be a real writer. Everyone needs some kind of a break eventually.

After tweeting out the topic for this post yesterday, I did get some interesting responses:

Those responses have encouraged me to try to change my perspective to that point of view. In addition to also mentioning that breaks are needed, in many other ways, they’re right. You can’t have light without darkness, happiness without sadness, the ups without the downs. And in those dark moments, life doesn’t stop. With or without you, life goes on. Feeling like crap doesn’t get any easier, but I can certainly see why it shouldn’t be enough to derail me more so than before.

The Conclusion

Image Credit | Clarissa Jones | listland.com

With all of that said, what should be done? The answer is simple: do what you can on those bad days. Whether it’s one page, one sentence or even one word, do what you can to make any progress happen even when your mind wants to wallow in misery. When you’re full of energy and positivity again, you just might thank yourself for persevering in that little way that dragged you one step closer to your goals.

Image Credit | steemit.com

Thank you, Keith Kunkler, Hope Nguyen and Erica Mae for giving me permission to use your responses to my tweet for this post! Check out Hope’s buymeacoffee account to read some of her stories and help fund her books and Keith’s top selling poetry book, Symphony Of Dreams! Erica is currently expanding to create a blog, so keep your eyes peeled for when that’s active!

Do you have any suggestions of your own for future posts? Leave a comment!