Assalaamu alaikum Reader,

I’ve had two writers recently leave my Grounded Writers program because they found it difficult to make time for their writing.

Both of the writers were apologetic when they told me they couldn't continue. And they expressed interest in returning when things looked better.

I could have tried to convince them that they should make writing a priority.

I could have advised them that life will always be busy and that there will likely never be a ‘good’ time to write.

I could have told them what so many successful authors say, which is that you have to treat writing like a job and show up, no matter what.

All of those things are true. But I don’t peddle in guilt.

I love to write. And I never want that to change. So if someone tells me that they are struggling and are finding it challenging to write, I tell them, Go easy on yourself. Writing isn’t everything.

Unless you are a full-time author already and have no other means of income, writing isn’t essential. It’s not a necessity. If the time isn’t right, then the time isn’t right.

I’ve gone through many years when I hardly wrote. When my kids were babies. When covid hit and we were in lockdown. When I was going through challenges in my life and I had no energy for creative pursuits.

I felt enough guilt during those times that I wasn’t writing. If someone, especially a writing teacher, had told me back then that I shouldn’t let anything stop me from writing, I don’t know how that would have impacted my relationship with writing.

All of us start writing because it feels meaningful and fulfilling. It feels like a gift, to be able to put pen to paper, to see words tumbling out that you didn’t know were inside of you, to feel like you’re building a bouquet, something that you can share with others, that they find beautiful and meaningful too.

There’s so much that is lost when we show up to write with guilt hovering over us. That sense of peace and calm when our pen is running along the page, the joy we get when we finish something, the satisfaction we feel when we’ve accomplished something meaningful, none of it sticks.

Feeling guilty about not writing, feeling despair because the days that have gone by are days in which we could have written but didn't, will drain the joy out of your writing when you do show up on the page.

I can feel the difference in the energy writers show up with in my program when they are excited about their writing, even if it’s their first time in a group and they’re feeling nervous, versus when they feel guilty about their writing.

To be honest, I debated whether I should send this email or not. I sat on it for a full day. My fears are telling me that talking about writers leaving my program is not a good business look. It must mean that my program doesn't work. If I couldn't help these writers, then how can I help anyone?

But another part of me, the hopeful one, the one that isn't controlled by my fears, is telling me that we're in this together. I'm a writer. You're a writer. We've all been there. In fact, I'm there now. I'm feeling challenged in so many different ways and forcing myself to make time for my writing isn't helping at all.

What does help, I’ve found, is accepting what is.

If this is a season in which it’s difficult for you to focus on your writing, accept it and embrace it. Give yourself permission to take writing off your plate. For now. This season of your life will pass, InshaAllah. And there will come a time when you can reconnect with your writing again, in a way that feels freeing and refreshing.

Your ideas won’t leave you. The ones that are clamouring to be written, they’ll come back when you’re ready.

​

With best wishes & duas for your writing,

Hajera

P.S. If this message didn't apply to you, if you are feeling excited and hopeful about your writing, then keep going! Here's a bonus writing prompt that I'm using in my Guided Writing Session at Grounded Writers today: Start with the line, “You think this is what you want.”

How I can support you in your writing:

✍🏽 Transform your writing by learning craft and getting my feedback on your stories: Join me inside Grounded Writers, a creative writing membership for Muslim women.

📖 Find fiction intimidating and not sure how to go from writing about your life to writing fictional stories? It's easier than you think. Take my Ease Into Fiction course.

📞 Struggling with your writing and need some guidance from someone who has been where you are now? Book a call with me and get advice that works for you and gets you feeling excited about your writing again.​