Member-only story
Writing Through Illness and Pain
What to do when you can’t push through. How to get back on the horse.
Everybody gets sick once in a while. Many of us have chronic conditions which may flare up and cause pain. What do writers do when they can’t push through illness or pain? How do writers stay focused on writing? What do they do when they've fallen off the horse?
I have a couple of chronic medical conditions which cause varying levels of discomfort, pain, and exhaustion. I have brain fog related to these conditions, so during a flare-up even if I’m not in pain, I can’t think well.
I am also a writer. I've recently had a flare-up and haven’t written much the past few weeks. During this time I kept trying to push myself to write, to publish, to submit. I published a few pieces. They were shit. I will most likely pull them from the publications which they are stinking up.
I was churning out shit because I was forcing myself. Nobody likes to be forced to do anything. Once I realized the why of the shit, I gave myself permission to not write at all. It is sometimes really hard to pick up where pain made me leave off.
My living relies on writing or publishing every day. Successful bloggers must keep churning out content or be forgotten. I had just given myself permission to not…
