Try Writing All Day

Writing is an exhausting activity. It requires vast amounts of mental energy for every single aspect of it, but it doesn't use very much physical energy. After extended periods of time, you are totally burned out, but simultaneously restless. It can put you in a very bizarre state of being.

It's like the polar opposite of running. Very similar though. The first steps are easy and fun. It is a struggle to find your pace and rhythm initially, but you find it and keep a steady pace. You are working, but there is a calmness to it. After some time (depending on your stamina), you start to feel aches as your energy levels decrease and you push on.

Casual writers (and runners) tend to stop around here. Maybe they push themselves a little further just to try to feel better or feel like they are improving (and, by the way, if you actually can do more than you used to, then you are improving), but they are hurting, so they figure it's break time.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is a secret level that comes afterward. If you can push yourself through that zone of pain, you can reach a sort of zen state (like the runner's high) where you have completely entered your world and it unfolds itself to you. You can create instantly and record quickly. It is a chore to reach, but can be done.

Try writing all day. Just for one day. Do all your chores beforehand or the next day. Turn off your phone, your internet connection, and lock your door. Put on some good writing music or work in silence (whatever is less distracting to you) and just pound away. It helps if you have a large project you are working on. National Novel Writing Month is coming up. It could be a great excuse to do exactly that.