Writing can be a struggle
People often tell me they find the act of writing difficult. And then I have to explain to them that it’s the same for all of us writers. Beginning any extended piece of writing is challenging. Leaving aside the procrastination which can be a prelude to any task, this is normally because the first ten or twenty minutes or so of writing effort is arduous. That’s until we get into the flow - or, more specifically, until we enter what psychologists call a “flow situation”. This means we start to receive mental stimulus back to compensate us for the effort we are putting in. Once this ongoing reward is in place, the act of writing becomes much easier. Therefore, so long as you can force yourself to actually start a writing session, then the writing itself will start to get a lot easier after a short duration. Some way in, you’ll probably be enjoying yourself. Promise! A related point is that it gets easier still after you’ve done the first draft. You are likely to go through several redrafts of your pieces but – so long as you leave a reasonable gap between redrafts so that you return with fresh eyes – in the main they will be a lot easier than the first one.