How to Embrace the Grind and Keep Moving Forward
From The Productive Indie Fiction Writer:
Writing is hard. Some days, it’s staring at a blank page until your soul starts to shrivel. Other days, it’s forcing words onto the page that feel as clunky as a toddler’s first steps. This difficulty, though, isn’t a bug in the system—it’s a feature. What you’re experiencing is disfluency, the grinding friction that comes when creativity refuses to flow like a perfect algorithm. But here’s the kicker: disfluency isn’t just a hurdle to clear; it’s the point of the creative process.
Let’s talk about what disfluency is, why it’s such a creative buzzkill, and—more importantly—how you can partner with it to build a consistent, productive writing habit. Yes, writing will still be hard sometimes, but with the right strategies, you can stop it from feeling impossible.
What is Disfluency?
Disfluency is the opposite of smooth sailing. It’s the sensation of working against the grain, where every step feels uncertain, messy, or flat-out wrong. It’s a hallmark of heuristic tasks—the kind that don’t have a clear path forward.
Unlike algorithmic tasks (which are predictable and follow a defined set of instructions), heuristic tasks require creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking. Writing a novel? Heuristic. Editing one? Yep, still heuristic. Even outlining can feel like clawing your way up a sand dune. This is where most creative people stall out, convinced they’re not talented enough, disciplined enough, or just plain “not cut out” for the work.
But here’s the thing: disfluency is proof you’re making progress. If it’s uncomfortable, you’re doing it right. For more about disfluency and creativity, check out this article from Edge.
Minimizing the Grind: How to Make Writing Less Painful
Develop a Daily Writing Practice
Consistency beats inspiration every time. When you write every day—whether it’s 50 words or 5,000—you train your brain to show up even when it doesn’t want to. This daily practice reduces the “startup cost” of sitting down to write, making the process feel smoother over time.
Think of it like muscle memory. The more you practice, the less your brain resists. Eventually, the act of writing becomes habitual, which removes one major layer of friction.
Reframe Your Mindset
Too many writers focus on the outcome—finishing the book, hitting a bestseller list, impressing readers. While those are great goals, they can make the writing itself feel like a chore. Shift your focus to enjoying the process. Fall in love with crafting a single great sentence, exploring your characters, or solving a tricky plot problem.
When you see writing as an opportunity for curiosity and play, the grind becomes more bearable—and sometimes, even fun.
Harness Your Willpower (When Habits Fail)
There will be days when no amount of habit-building or mindset magic gets you into the chair. That’s when raw self-discipline kicks in. Willpower is like a muscle—it grows stronger the more you use it. Commit to sitting down to write because you said you would. No excuses. No compromises.
For more on building self-discipline, check out my post on why discipline is the secret sauce to indie author success.
Break the Work Into Smaller Tasks
Disfluency feels overwhelming because creative work often lacks clear boundaries. Combat this by breaking your writing into bite-sized chunks. Instead of telling yourself to “write Chapter 5,” aim to draft one scene, or even one paragraph. Small, manageable goals create momentum, which makes tackling the bigger picture less daunting.
Recognize the Signs of Progress (and Track Them)
One of the reasons disfluency feels so discouraging is that writing doesn’t always give you obvious markers of progress. When you’re creating something from scratch, especially something as sprawling and unstructured as a novel, it’s easy to feel like you’re spinning your wheels in the mud. The key? Find something to measure. Even if your process feels chaotic, you can create milestones that give you a sense of forward motion—and that momentum can be the difference between grinding to a halt or powering through.
- Track the Tangible: If you can’t measure polished work, measure the messy stuff. Track hours worked, pages drafted, or even the number of words you’ve scribbled in your outline—whether they make sense yet or not. Outlines, brainstorming notes, or even half-formed ideas all count as forward motion. The simple act of seeing the numbers go up is motivating, even if what you’ve created so far isn’t perfect.
- Use Process Milestones: As you gain experience, you’ll start to notice patterns in your creative process. These aren’t always easy to spot when you’re new, but over time, your chaotic plotting and writing will reveal recognizable waypoints—milestones that show you’re on the right track.
- The “Things Are Jelling” Moment: After writing multiple books, I’ve learned to recognize the magical moment when all the story’s ingredients—the plot threads, character arcs, and themes—start to come together. It’s like a stew finally thickening. Once I feel that happening, I pick up speed because I know the hard work of setup is paying off. This milestone is highly motivating and signals that the story has found its rhythm.
- The Downhill Slope to ‘The End’: Another recognizable moment comes when I hit the final stretch of the book. The plot pieces are falling into place, the climax is in sight, and the momentum carries me forward like gravity.
If you’re an outliner, your outline can be a built-in measurement tool. I personally love the satisfaction of deleting a scene from the outline after I’ve written it. It’s a visible sign that I’m moving forward, one scene at a time. Even if you’re more of a discovery writer, you can adapt this strategy by tracking completed chapters or jotting down quick summaries of what you’ve written each day.
When Writing is Just Hard
Let’s not sugarcoat this: even with all the strategies in the world, there will be days when writing is just plain difficult. That’s where your discipline pays off. No magical habit or mindset shift can completely eliminate the struggle. What will carry you through is your ability to sit down and write anyway.
The good news? Every time you push through resistance, you’re training yourself to persevere. The more you write, the more you prove to yourself that you can. Over time, the hard days become less intimidating—not because they’re easier, but because you’re stronger.
Embracing the Beauty of Disfluency
The beauty of disfluency is that it forces you to innovate. When the work feels hard, you’re not failing—you’re growing. Creativity thrives in the messy, uncertain space where answers aren’t obvious, and every step forward feels like a gamble. That’s where originality lives. That’s where your best work is born.
So the next time writing feels like wading through quicksand, remember: you’re not stuck. You’re creating something that only you can make. Partner with the disfluency. Lean into the grind. And most importantly, keep writing.
Tracy Cooper-Posey
SRP Author and owner of The Productive Indie Fiction Writer