For most of us, the real barrier to writing our stories isn't a lack of creativity or talent. It's the weight of our expectations. We have the pressure to get it right, to be efficient, to prove something with every word we put on the page. And that kind of pressure turns writing into a graded performance. And it's really hard to feel playful, joyful, or relaxed when you're performing. Welcome to the Write It Scared podcast. I'm your host, Stacey Fraser, a formerly repressed creative soul, turned fiction writer, story editor, and author accelerator certified fiction book coach. At Write It Scared, we tell the truth about why writing a novel is so hard by acknowledging that most writers grapple with two stories: the one they want to put on the page to the best of their ability, and the often subconscious internal story that prevents them from doing it. This show is designed to help you identify and rewrite the internal narrative holding you back while you discover and write the story you want to tell and learn all the tools to help you do that successfully. Join me each week for a new episode where we'll talk about writing to deepen our understanding of the craft and of ourselves as writers. Writing a novel is an inside job that we do not do alone. Welcome to Write It Scared. I'm glad you're here. Let's dive in. Hey writer, welcome back to the Write It Scared Podcast. I'm your host, Stacey Fraser. This is where we talk about the brave and vulnerable act of writing our novels so that we can do it with more confidence and clarity and not feel so alone. Today's a solo episode, and we haven't had one in a while, and we're gonna talk some mindset. Specifically, if it's possible to incorporate more play into our writing process. So if you've been feeling stuck in drafting a revision, you feel weighed down by expectations, or burned out by the writing productivity culture, or guilty because writing just hasn't felt fun lately, this one's for you. But before we dive into that, I want to share a quick podcast update. We are winding down. Season three is almost over. We have one more guest episode to go and then our rep-up episode. And this has been a long season, and so I'm gonna take the summer off, but it's been equally wonderful. We've had so many amazing guests, and I appreciate them all. And just to remind you, the courage files are open for submission. And if this is your first time joining us and you don't know what the courage files are, it's a new segment that I'm going to introduce on the podcast in September when we come back for season four. And the point is to celebrate listener writing wins, your wins. No matter how big or small, because we need to. We need to give ourselves the credit and stop waiting for somebody else to do it for us. As Mel Robbins says, no one's coming, right? So if you opened your laptop and looked at your manuscript for the first time in a month, that's a win. If you wrote for 10 minutes, that's a win. If you revised a scene, that's a win. If you met another writer and made a connection, that's a win. So if you have a writing win, again, it doesn't matter how big or small, you can submit it through the link in the show notes or go to writeitscared.co forward slash courage hyphen files. And with your permission, I'll share it on the podcast. That way other writers can benefit from your moment of writing courage. And that's how we spread hope in the world. And I know that sounds kind of Pollyanna, but I don't give a damn. I believe in the idea of hearing other people's stories, and that's how we spread hope. So if you want to submit a writing win, go to the link in the show notes or go to the website. And if you do, you'll be automatically entered to win a developmental edit and a book coaching session with me. All right, so let's move on to our topic for the day. A few weeks ago, a listener left a comment in the Spotify comment section for the podcast and asked, How do I actually play with my writing? And it's such a fair question because we hear that advice all the time. As a book coach, I give it all the time. I say, have fun, be playful, don't overthink it. But no one, including me, really explains what that looks like in real life. So I thought today I would give it my best shot. When I think about play, just in general, it involves a sense of ease and most of the time in my house a great big mess. But there's experimentation, a willingness to be a little silly, and an enjoyment of the process, regardless of how things turn out. It feels low stakes, like you're allowed to just try things without judging them. But when we sit down to write, how much of that kind of energy do we actually bring to the table? When I sat back and evaluated my own writing process, I realized that if I'm being honest, there are plenty of days that I come to the page and it doesn't feel like play at all. It feels rote, like routine, like work, like showing up because I said I would, not because I'm particularly inspired about what I'm writing or excited about the work. This is especially true for me right now when I'm deep in revision with a book that I'm frankly tired of and one that feels like it's trying to break my brain. But what I realized is that even on the days that are a grind, something important happens. When I finish a writing session, no matter the outcome, I still walk away with a sense of accomplishment. And I trust myself a little bit more because I followed through. I kept a commitment to myself. And that builds my integrity, even if it's not fun to do in the moment. But then there's other times when the writing does feel more like play, and I've noticed those moments tend to show up earlier in my writing process, when things feel more open, more fresh, when I'm staring at the clouds, just daydreaming up a story and everything feels possible, or when I'm jotting ideas down in a notebook, or maybe I'm out for a long walk with my dogs and I'm just listening to music and a scene will take shape in my imagination. There's this sense of lightness and curiosity. And I don't have the worry of am I getting this right? Drafting can feel like that for me too, sometimes at the best of times. I still feel some pressure, but I definitely feel like there's more room to experiment with an idea and just to see where it goes. And underneath all of that, over time I've quietly cultivated this belief that I can fix whatever's not working later. So I don't know if play is something you can force into your process or even intentionally incorporate. Maybe you can. But it definitely seems to be something that shows up naturally when the pressure comes down. And I do believe that we can remind ourselves, as often as needed, to simply lower our expectations in the moment. For most of us, the real barrier to writing our stories isn't a lack of creativity or talent. It's the weight of our expectations. We have the pressure to get it right, to be efficient, to prove something with every word we put on the page. And that kind of pressure turns writing into a graded performance. And it's really hard to feel playful, joyful, or relaxed when you're performing, at least for me. So maybe the question isn't how do I bring more play into my writing process? Maybe that's the wrong angle. Maybe it's better to think of it like, how do I lower the stakes enough that I'm willing to show up, explore, and stick with it. So that might look like letting yourself write a messy scene that you know won't make it into the final draft. You're just using it to better inform yourself of your characters or of an event in the plot. Or maybe you follow a thread of curiosity without worrying where it leads or how it factors into the cause and effect of the entire story. It might mean focusing on the parts of the story that you love while setting aside the ones that feel too heavy or that seem to get you stuck. Lowering expectations is not about letting ourselves off the hook. We're still showing up, but we're also giving ourselves more room to breathe and maneuver. So maybe that's what play looks like in writing. Maybe it's not supposed to feel like constant joy or ease, but enough freedom to explore without fear and enough trust to believe that you can figure the rest out later. So, how do you incorporate more play into your writing? Not really sure. But I think it's beneficial to stop and evaluate your process. When do you feel the most freedom? And when do you find yourself starting to feel contraction or pressure? And when that happens, can you take a deep breath? Remember what you like about the story, remind yourself to lower your expectations, and give yourself a little more breathing room. Reassure yourself that books are made in layers, and you can fix whatever needs fixing later. I hope this episode gives you some food for thought about your writing process and what you want it to feel like and how you can incorporate a little more flexibility, fluidity, permission, and hopefully more joy and ease as you learn to lower your expectations. I'll be back next week with a new guest. Thank you for joining me. And remember the courage files are open for submission, and you can find the link in the show notes or go to write itscared.co forward slash courage hyphen files. Thank you for listening to the Ride It Scared podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please make sure to hit the follow button so you never miss an episode. And please leave a review. Reviews help other writers like you find the voices and messages they need to hear to continue to write their stories. Let's lift each other up. Remember, you can be scared and still be unstoppable. I'll see you next week.