Right now, it’s mid-April in Pittsburgh, and it has snowed almost every day this month. It’s pretty unusual to get that much snow at this time of year here. The tree in my yard is blooming, and we have a dusting of snow on the ground. The birds are chirping and likely freezing their little tail feathers off.

My kids don’t know what to think. They keep putting on their bathing suits and goggles (that’s what is in the stores right now, after all) and staring longingly out the window. “The sun is shining. It must be warm out.” A big NOPE!

My youngest actually asked if we could open Christmas presents. Seriously!

Nothing about this spring has felt natural. I even feel a little wonky, like I’m not comfortable in my skin . . .  or the extra layers of clothing I have to wear right now.

Though there is clearly nothing we can do about Mother Nature’s apparent drinking problem, there is something you can do when writing feels unnatural to you.

It can be caused by several different things.

Maybe you feel like writing a book is such a long task that you will never get through it. So you procrastinate. Or write begrudgingly, trudging through every phrase.

Maybe you are used to working with people or physical products. Sitting in front of a computer can feel like you’re quarantined. Or it can feel lonely.

Or maybe when you sit down to write, you can’t get the thoughts from your head to come out through your fingers. Many people feel that way.

Try some of these tricks to get your book written when it doesn’t feel natural.

1. Block off time to write, and stick to a short word count for each session. You know that a book is good for your business, but geez it takes forever to write one. Aim for about 30,000 words total, and then break that up into 500 words per writing session. That comes to 60 writing sessions. If you write every day, that’s about 2 months. Totally doable! Plus, if you write every day, you will see progress fast.
2. Go somewhere that doesn’t feel lonely. As long as the din in a coffee shop doesn’t distract you, go there so you don’t feel cut off from the human population. Writing a book shouldn’t make you feel like you’re sick or you’ve done something wrong. It should feel empowering. Make it an enjoyable experience, and you’ll look forward to writing.
3. Speak your book. When the words won’t come out through your fingers, let them come out of your mouth. You can get software that allows you to dictate your book. Or, open a new note for each chapter on your phone, and use the microphone on there. I’ve done it with blog posts before, and it’s really easy. You do have to watch out for that sneaky auto-correct, though.

Need other suggestions? Contact me to set up a time a free clarity call, and I’ll help you discover a workaround so writing feels just as natural as everything else you do during your day.