How I Got Writing Paralysis + How to Fix It

I have been writing consistently for about over three years which is not along time but it feels like it has been ages.

In that time, there have been ups and downs, good pieces of writing, some amazing pieces of art but some have been complete duds.

One thing that has remained consistent through it all was my desire to put pen to paper and actually commit to complete and utter self expression.

My writing recently took a sharp turn for the worse. I’m in a deep rut that feels like a state of paralysis—it’s no longer a matter of simply avoiding writing, but of being physically unable to do it.

How Did I Get It?

I stopped writing abruptly for personal reasons but in that time, I was not writing, I had a backlog of stories to still post. Not amazing ones but stories nonetheless. That is when my rut was in full effect

Writing ruts are common and the idea of productivity ruts or general stagnant growth in any area can come down to a variety of things:

• Perfectionism: Especially in a world where we compete with AI systems on a daily for human attention and obviously each other even more fiercely, it can feel pointless to publish work you don’t believe to be ‘good enough’.
• Fear of judgement: I can prescribe to the feeling of dread that comes with the thought of people judging you personally for your thoughts.
• Burnout and emotional fatigue: If you are someone that writes with a lot of emotion every time you write, you might feel drained at times as writing with that intensity or vigour takes a lot out of you.

These are real feelings — and once you’re caught in them, it can be genuinely difficult to find your way back. Still, I’ve always believed there’s always something you can do. Even if you have zero motivation to craft a perfectly structured, SEO-optimized Medium post, you can still write for yourself. Just for yourself. With no agenda, no audience, no goal in mind. Right?

I thought I could but I really can’t.

While I have always felt I had a deep connection to the exercise of jotting your thoughts in diary to see where they take you, right now, it feels distinctly meaningless to do so. For what, what is it going to do? Will I feel any different? Maybe.

It is also this state of limbo and uncertainty contributing to my unavoidable paralysis.

If you’re still reading, you might be thinking — how can my so-called paralysis be a serious concern, if I’m clearly writing this story right now? Great question. I always seem to tee myself up with perfectly timed questions that lead straight into my next point!

How to Get Yourself Out?

Intrinsically, writing obviously means a lot to you or it can be rugby, football, chess, art etc. Whatever the activity is, you obviously care about doing it else you would not have these feelings when you miss out on doing it. So do it.

More tangibly, I discovered a few tips that might help you:

• Try picking up a piece of paper and writing something random — anything. Doesn’t matter what. Just move the pen.
• I’ve heard computers come with keyboards. They’re surprisingly good at letting you write things. Might be worth investigating.
• Go wash some dishes. Take the garbage out. Do something aggressively mundane. Why? Because you might stumble on a genius story idea about trash chutes. But more importantly, mundane tasks are breeding grounds for rampant idea generation. The amount of ideas I get by not doing anything is both mind-boggling and deeply frustrating — especially since, when I sit down and try to think of something, everything feels stale.

About Asycd

​Asycd is a London-based creative technology and AI research company dedicated to bridging art and technology. We specialize in using AI to craft meaningful software and compelling artistic experiences for our users, readers, and clients.

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