I’m still continuing with my shorter new format for blogs, despite the length of my last blog post. I’m also still grieving and I’m trying my best to cope with it, but I find myself unable to engage on Social Media. It’s like the kiss of death for an indie author if you can’t promote your books every day. I feel like I have writer's block, but with social media. I’m not sure what to call it, maybe smlock?
I’ve been reading a lot while I’m trying my best to bounce back after this loss. Which is awesome because when I write I often don’t find time to read. I’m reading my friend's book, Brir, by Miranda Page. It’s the second book in her post-apocalyptic romantasy series. I absolutely loved the first book even though this is NOT my genre. I know I’m weird, but I don’t like fantasy. I find it difficult to keep track of the strange names, terrain, and creatures. What can I say, I’m lame.
I forgot to mention it’s MM romance, which I enjoy as much as FM. But even with the fantastic love story she weaves, I struggle a little with some of the necessary details. But she’s a wonderful writer and her ability to create love on the page is magical. So, I’m getting through it but it takes focus, and I don’t seem to have enough brain power for that right this moment. So, I put her book down when I was struggling to sleep and picked up a wolf shifter romance, I’ve been sprinting through the series. But I want to go back to my regular self.
I want the flowers to color the garden and the blue in the sky above to be brilliant as only Florida can offer. But the record cold has made the skies as gray as my mood. Not being sure what to call it doesn’t mean it’s any less intense. My smlock is crushing me and I don’t know how to shake it. Writer's block is a common problem, what do you do when you hit a wall? I usually listen to music or read something new or even write something different for a bit, none of these things are fixing my smlock. Looking for answers I did a little research, oddly not by asking on SM, but by Googling and falling into the rabbit hole of internet information.
Here's some information I found in a Reedsy Blog Editorial Team Article edited by Martin Cavenaugh from April 5, 2024:
Symptoms of Writer's Block
**Lack of motivation. Your creative drive can run dry without a reason to write (or if there aren't consequences, should you fail to write).
Loss of confidence in your ideas. You may have plenty of ideas, but nothing seems quite right or worthy of being written about.
Anxiety over the quality of your work. Imposter syndrome is a real thing and can leave you paralyzed
Toxic perfectionism. Do you find yourself re-writing sentences endlessly? Then this might be your issue.
**Real-life problems getting in the way. Bills? Children? Social obligations? These can all stop you from writing.
Things to try to get past it:
1. *Determine the root of the problem.
2. List your favorite books and writers.
3. Build a solid writing routine.
4. Write it badly at first.
5. Find a different way into the story.
6. Create a conducive physical space free from distractions.
7. *Adopt a growth mindset and reframe negative thoughts.
8. *Practice self-compassion and embrace imperfection.
9. *Take regular breaks.
10. *Set clear deadlines.
11. Make the brainstorming process more sensory.
12. Try a different writing method
I marked the items that seemed related to my case of smlock, with asterisks** and the solutions with another asterisk* but even so, these solutions don’t necessarily feel like they'll help all that much with my issues. Which are absolutely real-life intrusion and lack of motivation. How do you climb over hurdles like those?
I think my best bets are to practice self-compassion, give myself a break. Life sucks sometimes and if I can’t find the motivation to make snappy comments on Facebook, that’s okay. Also, set realistic deadlines. I’m a person who thrives under pressure, if I have a deadline, I'll stay up all night working like a maniac to finish on time. If I set some goals to make a few posts, with a deadline of a certain time to post by each day, I'll do it and maybe that will get me back on track even if I’m just going through the motions at first.
I love my author life; it’s a dream come true to be able to write what makes me happy and have complete strangers read what I wrote and love it. But even in the happiest of times when I’m wrapped in my characters and their hectic adventurous lives, a real-life event, such as the death of a loved one can intrude into my happy space. I struggled during the hurricanes too when everything was a literal flood of chaos, I got back on track eventually and I imagine I'll be back to my usual self when I’m ready. Until then, I’m gonna read some good books, observe my goals and deadlines, and try not to beat myself up.
I finished my new novella Deadly-Go-Round; I’m done with my edits as well, I’m sending it to my editor this week, and I’m going to see if I can jump into my next project, Force of Attraction, the third book in the Forces of Nature Series. My husband gave me a great idea for the series and I’m going to try out his suggestion, I'll let you know if it works out. Maybe getting into the next book I’m writing will help with my smlock problem. Some other things I'll be working on for 2025 are a new book, The Profit and I will begin work on the Southern Suns MC series. I hope to finish both of them before the end of the year, a fall release would be ideal. I’m thinking about a Christmas holiday horror story too, but I’m not one hundred percent sure if I want to do it or not, only time will tell.
As always, thank you for reading!
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