how to write when you don’t even want to write
a reluctant poem
Fill with self doubt and anxiety
Like pouring steaming hot tea from kettle
I am chipped cup
Barely containing expectation and desire
•
Blow steam away to make clarity
Understand that- you don’t even like tea
Spill anxiety down sink and get juice
•
Sugar your doubts with false hope
“It’ll be great, everyone loves your work”
Bake your thoughts till overly crisp
•
Sit in a weird position and commit yourself to the task
Scold self for committing to a task you don’t really want to do
Accept that somewhere deep inside you know it’s good for you
•
Pick up the pen
Open ‘Notes’
Use ketchup as mock blood
•
Grace the page with invisible ink
Spilling words not yet properly conceived
Bask at the emptiness with pride
•
You managed to start
Like the seed that has just been planted
You have a lot of dirt to dig through
•
Cry.
Let your rain water your ideas with trauma that’s much too ready to spill out
Remind self that you are a chipped cup
•
Drink the rainwater as hydration is key
Especially when you’ve fought for self care
When you don’t even like self care
•
Get juice
Crave the sugar spike of serotonin to boost your hopes
Pick up a pen, try again
About the Creator
Oneg In The Arctic
A storyteller and poet of arctic adventures, good food, identity, mental health, and more.
Co-founder of Queer Vocal Voices
Some other rad writers to check out:
James ❄️ TheDaniWriter ❄️ Melissa
RiverJoy ❄️ J. Delaney-Howe ❄️
Water is Life ✊
Enjoyed the story? Support the Creator.
Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed. You could also pledge your support or give them a one-off tip, letting them know you appreciate their work.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Keep reading
More stories from Oneg In The Arctic and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (28)
Very relatable. I feel called out. :) Nice work.
“Bask at the emptiness with pride!” Hahah😆 An awesome, fun and relatable poem about writing Oneg.☺️
Excellent take on the problem
My everyday reality, lol. I'm OCD. I don't shift gears well, making it difficult for me to accomplish what needs to be done in a timely fashion.
So relatable! Right in line with my struggle at times, particularly with one piece that may or may not ever make it to the page. Well done and congratulations on Top Story!
I love the way this reads like a recipe. “Cry.” What a confident, impressive reminder that every emotion is crucial to the creative process!! 👏
Congrats!! We all definitely need to dig for that gold
That ending wow, came back and top story another well deserved one, always exceptional fren
This is so fresh and wonderful! I can relate wholeheartedly. When I don't know what I want to write about or have little motivation, I become a master of procrastination and this is represented perfectly here. Congratulations on your top story sweetie!! I recently wrote a top story and I think you would appreciate the work that went behind that too haha! <3 https://vocal.media/beat/buck-moon-musings
Well done, congratulations on Top Story!. "Let your rain water your ideas with trauma that’s much too ready to spill out" 🙌🙌🙌
Loved this! Self motivation can be the hardest for sure. The process is not linear. Congrats on top story!
All too relatable for me right now. Well done, as always, Oneg :)
I totally relate to this and you put it so well! Congratulations on the Top Story! Lol, my brain read this part as “Sugar your DONUTS with false hope” the first time 🤣🍩❤️
congratulations on opening the writing gates and being recognized as a Top Story!
Inspiring 👏👏👏
Nice work.
Congratulations on your Top Story🎉❤️
The best writing advice for a writer and foodie like me. How can you top a line like "Use ketchup as mock blood" in terms of expression and raw emotion soaked in real life metaphor? Congratulations on Top Story!
Inspiring and motivating, love this!!!❤️❤️💕
There you go! Congrats on the TS
Thoroughly enjoyed this. The contradictions are so fun, “you don’t even like tea, spill anxiety down drain and get juice.” And your metaphors, too, are great! Ketchup as fake blood is so well conceived, and the tears as rain watering a seed works perfectly. The command to just feel those false emotions and get something down on the page (ketchup) is so relatable. Well done! 👏💜
So true. Sometimes you got nothing. I know the felling well. Well said.
Love this, I can definitely relate 👌👏💕
You have gathered the Facts❤️😉📝💯❗
Well done. You have shown how difficult a process it can be sometimes.