What do you do when there’s no time to write? The answer might seem quite obvious – well… you… don’t write? But sometimes it’s not that easy. You’re a writer, you need to write. You don’t do it because you want to, you do it because – against your better judgement – the heart wants what the heart wants (stupid heart). When you don’t write, you feel all weird, out of balance, a bit squiffy. But why?

With me, there’s a few reasons. It makes me feel like I’m not making any progress professionally, which just isn’t true. One of the reasons you might not have time to write (or draw or create) is that your day job is too busy, or you’re applying for new jobs, or hell – you’re burnt out. You’re human, it happens! Whoever heard of genuine art coming from a burnt-out husk of a brain? You need to have your wits about you to capture the beast and tame it onto the page. You’re doing yourself a timely service by resting, recovering your strength, and preparing yourself for the next leg.

Of course, it doesn’t feel that way. You feel the empty notebook or Mac calling you back, but there’s another part of you that begs to turn away, close its eyes, and wallow a bit. The only thing certain in life (apart from death and taxes) is that there is always the capacity for change. Nothing stays the same. You won’t always be so overwhelmed, you won’t always be this tired. It might take days, weeks, months, or even years – but things will be different one day. They will. And there will be joy in making once again.

And you have to remember, that not creating for a while doesn’t mean you stop being a creator. It’s who you are. And on top of all the other overwhelming challenged life can throw at you, you really don’t need another existential crisis on top. You are an author, an artist, a thinker, just by wanting to be those things and struggling with balancing life’s commitments doesn’t change that. You are also human, with a weak human body and a mind that needs looking after. After all, who wants to be a machine, turning the cold cogs and producing cold, grey artwork that doesn’t feel like the real you anyway?