In Writer’s Limbo? How Low Can You Go?

Are you in a writing slump? Lynn Dickinson teaches you how to Writer's Limbo by setting writing goals that keep the bar low!

If you’re not writing as much as you wish you were, you might be in Writer's Limbo. And, just like the famous limbo dance, when you're in Writer's Limbo, there’s only one way to win…

Set the bar as low as possible.

Just as the best limbo dancers “go low,” so do the most prolific writers.

We live in a culture where setting the bar high can sound like a good idea. After all, that’s what “winners” do, right? They set the bar high enough to impress others, then sail over it with ease.

Well … not so much.

It may seem self-evident, but it’s good to reach your goals.

When you set a goal and reach it, you not only make progress toward your desired end game, but you also experience a sense of achievement, success, and accomplishment. You build trust in yourself. You’re more likely to pursue your future goals with enthusiasm and confidence. Reaching your goals is a good thing.

Setting a goal and not reaching it has the opposite effect. It’s demoralizing. It saps your energy. It drains your confidence. It makes you pull the covers over your head and pretend you never cared in the first place.

In fact, the mere act of setting a goal and reaching it can be so powerful and beneficial, it’s almost irrelevant what goal you set!

So, set the bar low.

Setting lower goals isn't lazy. There's actually a scientific reason to do so.

Setting a goal that seems too high to reach with ease is more likely to activate your innate fight-or-flight response than setting low, easy-sounding goals. When your fight-or-flight response is activated, you may do a lot of other things, but you probably won’t write. In that way, those lofty goals are more likely to keep you from writing anything at all, than they are to facilitate your work.

Sure, you may dream of winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, or the Booker Prize for your novel, but there’s an important difference between dreams and goals. You set goals in service to your dreams. Each goal you set and achieve, takes you a step closer to your dreamed-of outcomes.

Taking a mere baby step toward your ideal writing life may seem not as worthwhile as taking a huge running leap. But a series of baby steps in the right direction will get you where you want to go a lot faster than a million running leaps you never take.

So what can you do today, or right this minute, in service to your writing dreams?

7 Tips for Creating Writing Goals that Actually Work

If you can’t write a chapter today, can you write a page? If you can’t write a page, can you write a paragraph? If you can’t write a paragraph, can you write a sentence? If you can’t write a sentence, can you write one word? Can you sit at your computer and turn it on? Can you open your journal and pick up a pen?

Set the bar low and clear it with ease. Then pat yourself on the back and celebrate another goal reached. You only get good at what you practice, and today, what you are practicing is achieving your goals.

Maybe tomorrow, you’ll set and reach a goal that aims a tiny bit higher.

What’s one goal that feels like a no-brainer for you today? What can you accomplish with ease that will move you that much closer to your writing dream?

Post it down below so we can root for you!

And whenever you find yourself in Writer's Limbo, remember–set the bar low. Then go for it.

How low can you go?

P.S. Once you've let us know how low you can go, please take a moment to let me know how I can help you write more, by taking this short, 5-question survey for writers. Thanks!