Being Your Own Freelance Cheerleader
Finding a way through the dull days of a writing life
Being a freelance writer can be a lonely profession; we don’t have a team to carry us through the tough times, or the banter by the coffee machine, the Friday feeling of a weekend beginning, team meetings on a Monday morning, or encouragements to carry on writing and improve our skills. We have to be self-starters, self-affirming, self-sufficient, self-managed: self, self, self.
Being this self-contained can feel isolating. Personally, I find it hard to keep my mojo continuously going and occasionally it feels like a door slamming on my creativity and the inclination to do what I have enjoyed doing for years disappears. During these moments it’s so easy to get distracted and the slightest thing will pull me away from my computer: a YouTube video will get me going down a rabbit hole in search of information that is irrelevant to what I am writing about, though household chores such as cleaning, washing, and sorting and are the most common distraction for me.
Or, if the sun is shining, I must get out, even if only for 15 minutes. Of course, this frequently turns into hours instead. Often these times are followed with an inner voice telling me that I’m no good at writing anyway, so why bother?
I’m sure I’m not the only one with this kind of self-destructive cycle, though when your only colleague is a laptop, it can be hard to recognise that there are many more of us out there with similar experiences. So, what can we do to get through these times?
How to be your own cheerleader
I have devised some strategies on how to be my own cheerleader. It isn’t a complete list of everything possible, but it is a beginning:
1. Keep links to all your published writing in a safe place
You don’t want to lose these; they can save you on one of those rainy days when all else seem to fail. I can surprise myself by the quality of an article I wrote a while ago or gain new ideas or a different approach to the same subject. Reading through old articles can reawaken your belief in your own ability that you write with conviction and flair that can get others thinking or doing.
2. Positive feedback is like gold
Store them away in a folder or print them out and put them in a scrapbook. These are the comments we forget about when the down days claw at our mind and the profound meaning we were able to tease out yesterday has disappeared. A physical folder works for me, I can pull out, at random, notes with positive comments by other people and it reminds me that writing is within me, it’s just taking a rest.
3. Write something!
Anything is better than nothing — in fact, that’s how this article started. Even if it is just some draft ideas or headings, a few notes, or a set of bullet points. Writing will keep your mind and your fingers in touch with your craft and can inspire the process that momentarily has escaped you.
4. Volunteer
I recently signed up to help out at the local community culture house, which hosts art exhibitions and music events. It’s only half a day per week, but it takes me out of my office and gets me meeting new people. Since starting I have found that my inspiration has increased, as have ideas for new articles. Best of all, the down moments are fewer.
5. Inspiration is everywhere
Even if you, like me, might find that the cooker is calling to be cleaned, rather than conform to this demand, write about it and the fact that your cooker has developed a voice that you can actually hear!
6. Forgive yourself!
We are only human and expecting top performance 100% of the time isn’t realistic. Allow yourself some time out to reconnect with nature, a hobby, or a good friend, anything that can offer a chance to refuel you emotionally.
I am keeping this article safe for future reference. I might feel ok today, but by next week I could get another call to clear out the attic or polish my shoes.
Please feel free to add anything else that works for you in the comments. I will add your strategy to the list above and credit you with a link to your Medium account. Let’s pool our strategies and become each other’s cheerleaders.
