Writing is an exercise in trust.
To hear the voice of a character you have to be receptive and calm. You have to sit at your desk, stare out of the window for a while, and trust that something will come to you. You don’t yet know if it will be a good writing day or a bad writing day but you’re showing up to find out. You’re sitting in silence, thinking about things.
Silence brings challenges: “Can I please just forget about that thing that’s been bothering me since yesterday?” Silence brings doubts: “What happens next in the story? What if this scene is wrong?” I have to remind myself that none of that matters. I just have to trust that some idea, or feeling, or insight will reveal itself to me. Sometimes, when nothing happens, I take a leap of faith and just write. I keep going even if it seems completely wrong, or cloudy, or forced. A part of me knows that tomorrow will be better, but a part of me thinks that the struggle will last forever. All I know for sure is that showing up requires some trust.