Why Writing Feels So Hard And How To Make It Feel Safe Again

Are you sitting reading this blog post because you are avoiding putting your own words to paper?

Even before I opened this Google Doc, I said that I just didn’t feel like writing. But here we are, as I am forcing myself to put the words out onto this document because I have goals that I want to reach. 

If you are here because you are also struggling with putting words on a piece of paper, know that you are not alone. Writing can sometimes feel pointless. Where are the words taking me? What is the purpose of what I am writing down? How can this be making me feel better when I feel worse in the moment? 

I have done all that I can to avoid putting those words to paper. 

Avoided my computer.

Put my journal across the room from my bed.

Left a pen somewhere else, so I didn’t have a way to write it down.

Got a sudden urge to clean my entire house. 

Writing is hard, and that is okay. We are here today to put some practices into play so that we can make it feel less hard most days. 

WHY WRITING FEELS SO HARD

Writing is hard because it asks something from you. Not perfection. Just honesty. And sometimes, honesty can feel extremely vulnerable when you’ve spent years holding everything in, powering through, or silencing the parts of yourself that need attention. 

Writing cracks the door open, letting that little bit of light inside. It gives your inner world a voice. That alone is enough to make anyone want to run in the opposite direction. 

But there is another side to writing. The one that also brings you home to yourself. It’s the place where you tell the truth without performing. Where you let the scattered pieces land as they are. Where you get to stop pretending that everything is fine and you can finally exhale.

So, if writing feels heavy, emotional, uncomfortable, or even scary, it is because you’re brushing up against something real. And real things tend to rise with resistance. 

The good news is that you can rebuild safety with your writing practices. You can make the page a place that holds you, rather than overwhelming you. Here’s how you do that.

HOW TO RETURN TO THE PAGE WITH SOFTNESS AND SAFETY WHEN WRITING FEELS HARD

Writing touches parts of us that are hidden or have long been ignored. It asks us to slow down when everything in life is demanding that we speed up. It is time to change the narrative. Take back your power and create a space where writing feels safe again. Here are six ways to do just that. 

START SMALL. REALLY SMALL

You don’t need an hour.

You don’t need a perfect setup. 

You don’t need profound thoughts waiting to spill out.

Start with five minutes. 

Start with one sentence.

Start with a single question.

What am I carrying today?

Tiny entries add up. Small honesty becomes clarity. 

REMOVE THE PRESSURE TO WRITE WELL

You are not here to impress. You are here to express. 

Your journals don’t need to be pretty. 

Your notes don’t need structure. 

Raw writing is real writing. When you take away the demand to produce something polished, your nervous system relaxes and allows the words to arrive with less resistance. 

CREATE A RITUAL THAT FEELS SAFE

I have written previous blog posts on creating writing rituals. Read the blog post on My Life Of Words. 

Safety doesn’t come from the act of writing itself. Instead, it comes from how you enter the act. 

Light a candle.

Sit somewhere soft.

Turn on music that slows your heart rate.

Wrap yourself in a blanket. 

Signal to your body that you are not in danger. You are just ready to listen. 

Your ritual becomes the anchor that guides you into the writing practice. 

LET YOUR WORDS BE MESSY

Messy isn’t failure. Messy means movement, and some days your writing is going to be tangled. Somedays it will be blunt and sharp. Other days, it will feel like you are writing the same sentence over and over again.

This is all part of the process. 

You’re not trying to fix yourself on the page. You’re trying to hear yourself. 

DON’T JUDGE WHAT COMES UP

Your writing may surprise you. It might bring up some emotions that you didn’t even know were there. It might reveal truths you’ve been avoiding or stories that you didn’t know you were still carrying around within you. 

Nothing you write is wrong. 

Nothing you feel needs to be corrected. 

Everything is information. 

Writing becomes safer when you stop critiquing the experience and just start witnessing it. 

CELEBRATE SHOWING UP

Every time you pick up the pen or open your document, you’re proving something powerful. 

You are willing to meet yourself where you are at. 

That’s courage. 

That’s transformation. 

That’s how writing becomes a lifelong companion instead of a task on your to-do list. 

WRITING DOESN’T NEED TO BE EASY, JUST POSSIBLE

If writing feels hard today, you’re not broken, blocked, or behind. You’re simply human. A fact that we can sometimes forget in the chaos of life. 

The page will meet you exactly where you are, in this moment, NOT where you think you should be. 

And the more you return to it with softness and openness, the more it becomes a place that steadies you, holds you, and reminds you of the truth that you carry. 

Your words are waiting, BUT they will never rush you. 

If you’re ready to commit to your creativity, to your writing, to your healing, and to your voice, join me for a 90-day challenge designed to help you reconnect with yourself on and off the page. 

Each week, you will receive a simple daily writing practice and a tiny daily habit for health, a weekly confidence-building task for your business or creativity, and one reflection question to keep your momentum moving forward. 

It’s the reset you’ve been needing with support that lasts longer than a single blog post. Join me in the Creative Reset Challenge in my Facebook group, Pages of Her, or on my Instagram account, @oakandinkpublishing