Why Sometimes Being In Editing Mode Can Lead To Writer’s Block

Posted on August 11, 2023 Updated on August 14, 2023

Sometimes being in the left-brain editing trenches can zap your energy enough to where you’re unable to switch back to the right-brain creative tasks of writing something new. At least the switch isn’t as easy as you might’ve thought it would. I didn’t actually know that editing-induced writer’s block was an actual thing until I experienced it first-hand.

As you can tell by the long breaks in between posts, I haven’t been very consistent in terms of a posting schedule. Every time I mean to write on my blog, I’ve found myself swamped with editing tasks. When I reversed-engineered how I spent my time, it always led back to one place—editing. Some writers can write a whole new work in progress while they’re editing an older manuscript. Some writers are even able to achieve a hearty daily word count while being part-time book editors for other writers and authors.

In my particular case, I’ve found it much harder to have the creative juices left inside to brainstorm ideas for a new novel, let alone a new blog post, when I’m in edit mode. It’s easy to get hard on ourselves for not meeting our own expectations. We’re often harder on ourselves, and it’s rarely an outside source nagging us to meet our own stringent deadlines. One way to help ourselves get unstuck is to write down all of the things that life has thrown at us, including circumstances outside of our control. Doing this can not only help you to see where all of your time has gone, but it can help you give yourself some empathy and credit for what you have achieved.

Everyone wants to accomplish many goals in the new year but can lose sight of them as time passes. Below is a breakdown of how I spent my time since January. You can also try doing your own new year goals check-in around the sixth-month mark. It’s helpful to write out the things you’ve accomplished. Now that we’re in August, officially seven months since January, it’s never too late to list your accomplishments.

How I’ve Spent My Time Since January 2023

• Part-Time Editor At National Writing Conference: I became part-time editor of Writing Day Workshop, a hub that manages writing conferences nationwide. It’s a conference directed by Brian Klems, former columnist and editor of Writer’s Digest. I was able to read 26 aspiring authors’ first ten pages and edit them, which equaled out to around 260 pages worth of editing. Believe it or not, these took up a good part of my time because it included a 1-hour Zoom or Google meeting where I got to meet with writers and discuss my notes I’d provided for them and how they could improve their opening.

• Editing An 85k Manuscript & 13K Short-Story: In meeting aspiring authors and writers from all over the country via many virtual writing conferences I participated in as an editor, I made great connections with fellow writers. I’m currently doing a second pass on a women’s fiction manuscript. I’ve already edited it once. I provided developmental and line-by-line edits. When this occurs, I often have to do a whole new edit if there are major changes. The author loved my editorial style so much that she hired me again to revise it a second time. I’m now going through the entire manuscript once more. I’m also editing a 13k short-story for another writer. But editing a full-length or even a short manuscript, whether our own or someone else’s, can take hours upon hours of our time.

• Edited Two Of My Own Manuscripts: I ended up having to edit an older manuscript that I had completed that is currently on submission. Now, I’m also revising a newer manuscript. Editing other people’s work has helped me to sharpen my eye and better improve my ability to improve my own pages.

• Taught A Social Media For Authors Class: I got an opportunity to teach a class at the writer’s conference in Los Angeles. It was exciting to meet other writers and give them input on why they should be on social to promote themselves even if they’re not published yet and how to maintain a consistent posting schedule.

• Posting More On Social: Speaking of social media, I have been posting more on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. All aspiring authors should try to maintain a continuous social media presence on their channels in order to build their brand. It obviously takes up some time because effective social media requires engaging with other fellow writers. Creating graphics, videos, and other such content requires time. I’ve also joined a few influencer groups on Facebook, where I’ve been participating more in terms of reciprocating with fellow content creators to engage with each other’s posts, including participating in threads where I can gain followers. Meeting fellow content creators is a great way to build our platform and get more engagement as well.

• Full-Time Mom: I’m also a full-time mom to two kids, so that also takes up my time. We’ve managed to have my two-year-old son in daycare through the summer, but my eight-year-old daughter has been out of school. We’ve had her in a few summer camps, and it’s been great to have her around. But we’re both ready to have her back in school. I know many parents are excited to have their kids return to school, and many kids look forward to seeing their friends again and getting back into a routine.

In returning to my list of accomplishments thus far, as you can see, I’ve been doing a lot of editing of other people’s manuscripts via writing conferences or revising my own work. I don’t have an infinite amount of energy and time to then hop into a new manuscript or start writing again. But the below steps are ones I plan to implement, and hopefully, it helps you get out of your writer’s block, too.

Steps Toward Jumping Back Into Writing & Reducing Writer’s Block

• Plan Out Your Blogs: I started doing this because it’s a more effective way to blog. It’s too easy to write by the seat of our pants and have everything unplanned. But unscheduled, unplanned writing ends up leading to inconsistent blogging. To maintain consistency, I decided to write out the next two blogs and didn’t post them until they were all written first. After at least two were written, I scheduled one out every three weeks. I would love to post more and write more in advance, but I think it’s better to start with realistic goals before trying to do too much, which can cause us to over-extend ourselves. While this might not seem like a lot for daily bloggers, it’s more than enough for me. It gives me time to read other blogs and engage with them. After all, blogging is more than writing and posting. Similar to the rule that we must engage with others on social media to build up our followers, to build blog followers, we must also engage with other bloggers.

• Plotting A New WIP: I’m not necessarily a pantser or a plotter, but somewhere in between. I’ve decided to write a synopsis first and then build a plot outline based on that synopsis before drafting my next manuscript. I think this method will thaw my creative juices and provide direction. It’s easier to keep myself accountable this way. It does help to have some generalized idea in terms of the story, the characters, and the premise of the manuscript. Writing out your plot points can help you feel like you’re doing something productive toward your next new work in progress. When you’re blocked, jotting down ideas or major scenes and beats you need to hit can help unclog creative juices and get them flowing again.

• Finish Your Editing Obligations First: If you’re editing other people’s manuscripts or revising old work, I really think it’s best to do one task at a time in order to do it well and maximize your time. To edit well, you really need to pay attention to the details and make sure you’re not missing anything. As an extremely detailed editor that tends to provide lots of notes to other writers, I need to give them my undivided attention. I know that many writers advocate trying to do lots of things at once. Some writers claim they can write multiple books simultaneously and edit as well. But, I think it’s better to focus on completing revisions if that’s the stage you’re at and then focus on writing your new WIP after you’ve completed all editorial rounds on your last manuscript.

• Make Time To Write After You’ve Completed Revising Old Work: Once you’re done revising your last manuscript, and it’s done, it frees up your mental space and internal energy to work on a new thing. If you’re a part-time manuscript editor like me, I find that I have the capacity to plot out my new manuscript, but not necessarily have the energy or time to write it when I’m eyeballs-deep in editing a client’s full-length manuscript. Once I’ve completed all of my revision obligations on my own manuscript or my client’s manuscripts, I’ve noticed my mind is no longer overwhelmed. After that free feeling sinks in, you might notice you suddenly have the ability to focus on being creative again in terms of writing your next novel.

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The Bottom Line

We writers often complain about writer’s block, but we don’t spend the time to dissect and reverse engineer their current situation in order to understand how they got there in the first place. When we write down all of the things we have accomplished, it helps us feel less like a loser and more like a winner. You give yourself credit for the things you have done instead of the lack of word count you haven’t put in. More importantly, it’s wise to try and complete editorial tasks firsts and get them out of the way so that it frees up your calendar to write a new manuscript.

Freeing your calendar means completing all tasks and previous obligations in order to give yourself the space to write. We might complain about having writer’s block but then don’t realize that maybe it’s not writer’s block plaguing us. Rather, it’s likely that we’re simply tied up with other obligations. We might lack the hours in the day to get in writing time when we are busy with other obligations like doing left-brain revisions, editing, or on other tasks that life might throw our way. We can’t expect to crank thousands of words daily on new work when we have unfinished projects. Better we complete any outstanding projects or editorial obligations first, so we’re free to give our 100% to our future characters and their new worlds.

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