How I wrote my best stories yet, and how you can too
Does writing feel like a chore to you lately?
Write whatever crap, but don’t miss the deadline! You are not writing to create, just to hit “publish” before the clock runs out.
If that sounds like you, answer this question:
If you run out of groceries, do you just eat rotten food or stay hungry?
Or go out, restore your fridge with quality food, spend time preparing it, and eat well?
The second and better option, right?
Then, why feed nonsense to your paper if you don’t have something good on your mind right now?
Why not take some time to think and create?
That’s exactly why I took the whole of June 2025 off — not from creating but from posting.
Stop Posting, Start Creating
To create something, you need time and space to think.
Thinking, researching, and brainstorming are also part of writing.
But these constant deadlines to “post something” in time force us to jump straight to the editing part.
You need to put your thoughts and ideas together before putting them into words.
You must have heard the writing advice, “Write every day, even if it’s crappy.”
While we can still mold this into: “craft a piece daily without over-thinking, and eventually the ideas will settle in the right place.”
However, in order to do this, you must also be free from pressure. That’s why you don’t need a break from writing, but from posting.
A Month Without Deadlines Changed Everything
Since July, whatever I had been posting was written and saved in my drafts days ago. Meanwhile, I was crafting my next stories smoothly.
And no doubt, without any pressure, I am truly writing. Some days, I completely think and brainstorm, and other days I write a whole story and polish it.
And keep working on longer stories side-by-side.
Now, I am always days ahead of my posting dates. Even if I don’t feel like writing, I can pause a day or two without pressure.
Try this 1-Month Writing Reset Plan
If you feel completely lost and clueless about your writing, and also find it difficult to manage along with other tasks, here’s what you can do:
- Step away from all your writing, stories, and accounts for a day or two.
- Try spending some time in solitude, reflecting on what you have previously written.
Ask yourself: What’s your best piece? What do you think you miss in your writing recently? What do you enjoy the most about writing? What is the most difficult part for you? - Brainstorm all the ideas that come to your mind.
- Whenever you feel ready, simply start writing.
- I would suggest starting with how you feel about writing right now (even if it means keeping that story to yourself).
- For the next whole month, write every day, whether it results in crap or a masterpiece.
- On some days, take time to revise and polish previous work.
- Keep saving them all in your drafts folder.
- Choose any week from next month to start posting.
- Schedule your stories to post. Once the process starts, keep writing daily.
With 8–10 stories already in drafts, you can write every day without the pressure of deadlines.
Closing Thoughts
The more we ignore the importance of taking breaks, the more we actually need them.
I had been consistent with posting since the start. However, when I took a break for my exams, I realized how far I had come.
That’s why I took another intentional break in June, and that’s the reason I am writing pressure-free today.
To craft your stories, you need ideas and structure, and for that you need time and space, and that only comes from taking breaks.
You are not a bad writer. Just burnt out by deadlines.