Sometimes, it’s just hard to write.
This morning was one of those mornings. It began with my standard morning journaling routine, notebook open and pen in hand. I wrote a single-sentence paragraph describing a mundane task ahead of me for the days, and thought, This is it. This is all I’ve got today.
I wasn’t feeling the whole writing vibe this morning. But I pressed on and ended up filling two pages of the journal with words. Not elegant words. Not beautiful words. Not profound words. But words that were about as appetizing as a bowl of colorless gruel.
To wit:
This morning I’m struggling to write. To journal. I’m overcome with inertia, with lethargy. I’m wondering if I should spend so much time writing, or thinking about writing. … Everything feels like a chore this morning. A to-do to get done. I know this will pass but it is not passing this morning.
Journal entry excerpt, Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Not all is lost, however. I have other writerly things to do. I will spend some time reading, conducting research for a couple of stories I’m working on (I use the term working loosely, since one is barely committed to paper and the other is little more than rumination at the moment). Maybe I’ll play guitar for a while to shift gears in the brain.
Tomorrow I’ll try again.
Andy writes! 
Sometimes when I don’t want to write, ai write best, sometimes when I don’t want to exercise, the exercise does me the most good
I agree, Mark. I’m not as disciplined a runner as I once was, but I always knew that the first five minutes of the run would be the hardest. It’s the getting started part that is sometimes the most intimidating.
I think the “third eye,” or ajna chakra, sees a bowl of colorless gruel but discerns the insights beneath the porridge.
Oh man. That’s a vibe. Like with writer’s block, I think sometimes the brain is telling us to just take a break. That we need to recharge. Instead of doing “active” writing try something passive like watching a documentary that relates to what you are writing. Or watch a movie that’s in the style of your current story for inspiration. Just so long as we aren’t doing it every writing day for months.