What Kind of Writing Monster Is Lurking in Your Brain?

You wouldn’t think a productive writer would have to worry about monsters. But sometimes, just when you’ve cleared your schedule, opened your laptop, and promised yourself you’ll finally get that chapter (or email or video) done, something cold and invisible slinks up behind you.

Suddenly, you’re scrolling instead of writing, reorganizing your Scrivener folders, and researching branding fonts for the fifth time this week.

If that sounds familiar, here’s your diagnosis: There’s a monster in your brain.

Below, you’ll meet the four most common types that plague writers. These horrific beasts are drawn from the real patterns I’ve found in my research for my new book, Escape the Writer’s Web. Each monster represents a different conflict zone in your creative brain, and each comes with a set of tricks and a few treats to help you fight back.

Monster #1: The Whispering Wretch (a.k.a. The Inner Critic)

You sit down to write or work on your marketing tasks, then find yourself endlessly editing, researching, or spiraling emotionally until you’re certain this manuscript needs to be dumped in the trash.

Meanwhile, your monster whispers things like:

• “That’s not good enough.”
• “Someone else already said it better.”
• “Why even try?”

How to Banish the Whispering Wretch

This monster feeds on fear, especially fear of judgment, failure, or being seen. The goal isn’t to silence it entirely, but to shrink its power by creating safety, softening the stakes, and reducing the emotional load of showing up.

1. Lower the threat level.

The Wretch gets louder when the task feels too high-stakes, like everything hinges on this next sentence, pitch, or post. Your first move? Make what you’re tackling smaller and less “important.”

Try this:

• Write a deliberately awful paragraph just to prove the world won’t end.
• Rename your draft something absurd like UglyBlob_01.docx to trick your brain out of perfection mode.
• In marketing, post a “throwaway” caption in a secret document or alternate account where it doesn’t have to be polished or public.

2. Break the shame spiral.

One of the Wretch’s favorite tricks is to require too much at once: write it, fix it, publish it, and defend it from judgment all in the first draft!

Try this:

• First round: just ideas—no pressure.
• Second round: cleanup crew.
• Third round: polish and prep to share.
• When the critical voice pipes up early, say, “This isn’t your shift yet. Come back at round three.”

3. Build invisible momentum.

The Whispering Wretch thrives in stillness, particularly when you’re stuck, stalled, or staring too long at the blinking cursor. It withers when you start moving, even if the steps feel small or silly.

Try this:

• Open your writing doc and type one sentence, any sentence. It doesn’t matter what it says. Then write one more.
• For marketing, try using a 5-minute timer to brainstorm headlines or hooks: no judgment or editing.
• Reward yourself for showing up, not finishing. Movement is the key measure here.

Monster #2: The Ever-Hungry Howler (a.k.a. Energy-Momentum Disconnect)

This monster gallops in at full speed, fangs bared, eyes wild, dripping ambition, and convinces you that now is the time to write the book, start the podcast, build the platform, update your website, grow an email list, and post three times a day on Instagram.

You feel possessed. Hyper-focused. Driven!

Until you crash. Then come the doubts, the guilt, and the scroll hole.

That’s how the Howler works: it fuels your drive until it devours your energy. The more you obey its manic rhythm, the louder it howls.

How to Banish the Ever-Hungry Howler

This beast feeds on overcommitment and the shame that comes afterwards. The trick isn’t to work harder, but to work with your energy instead of always fighting it.

1. Create a minimum baseline.

When the Howler takes over, you believe every project matters equally, and that your success depends on doing all of it—right now.

To resist:

• Choose one small keystone writing task each day (e.g., 15 minutes of drafting, one paragraph of revision).
• In marketing, define a single “bare minimum” action that keeps you visible without draining your soul. Maybe that’s scheduling one post per week or sending a once-a-month email that feels true to you.
• Declare your day “done” when that task is done. Anything else is a bonus.

2. Build in recovery windows.

High creative energy is often followed by a natural lull. It would be nice if we could understand and honor that, but when haunted by the Howler, it’s impossible.

To outsmart it:

• After intense writing days (or big visibility efforts like launches), pre-plan recovery time—a half day offline, a walk, a weekend away, or even just a change of scenery.
• Mark “off-duty” days in your calendar and protect them like deadlines.
• Let your audience or community know when you’re offline. This makes it harder for your brain to equate “not posting” with vanishing.

3. Track your energy patterns, not just your progress.

We have to remember that our creative energy isn’t a machine. It’s more like a tide, and it needs to go out sometimes.

Try this:

• Keep a simple journal or monthly calendar where you rate your energy on a scale of 1–5 and jot down what you worked on.
• Look for patterns. Are you more energized in the mornings? Mid-week? After certain types of tasks? At certain times of the month or year?
• Adjust your writing/marketing goals to sync with your high-output windows. Let the lows exist, remembering that they’re restorative.

Monster #3: The Fogwalker (a.k.a. The Idea–Action Gap)

You’ve got ideas, so many ideas! An entire haunted library’s worth of outlines, snippets, and half-finished drafts. But when it’s time to pick one and take action, the fog rolls in. Everything feels overwhelming.

The Fogwalker doesn’t block you with fear or resistance. It just makes things too hazy to move.

How to Banish the Fogwalker

The trick is to simplify the path and reduce decision fatigue so you can move forward even when you’re not sure it’s the “perfect” move.

1. Limit your options.

The Fogwalker grows stronger every time you stare at your ten open tabs or twelve half-outlined projects. To beat it, narrow the field.

Try this:

• Choose one writing project to move forward with this month. Not forever, just for now.
• Pick one marketing channel to show up on consistently. Ignore the rest for 30 days.
• For creative ideas, make a “Not Now” doc. List other exciting options there, so you don’t feel like you’re losing them, but they don’t distract you either.

2. Set micro-goals with visible wins.

When every task feels too big or vague, your brain resists starting. Instead of “revise chapter four” or “launch my Substack,” break the fog into bite-sized chunks.

Try this:

• Write one sentence. That’s it. Bonus points for a second.
• Create a single social post or newsletter draft—not a final version.
• Use sticky notes, checkboxes, or a visual tracker to see progress build. The Fogwalker hates evidence of momentum.

3. Anchor your creative energy with structure.

When your brain loves possibility, it rebels against rigid plans. But without some container, ideas stay floaty and the Fogwalker keeps you drifting.

Try this:

• Use a weekly rhythm instead of a daily schedule. Example: Mondays = content planning, Tuesdays = drafting, Fridays = send/share.
• Give each idea a time limit: “I’ll explore this story concept for 30 minutes, then decide next steps.”
• For marketing, try a repeatable format (e.g., a weekly “tip Tuesday” post or monthly “writer behind the scenes” email) to reduce the need for new decisions every time.

Monster #4: The Rebel Revenant (a.k.a. The Autonomy Tension Trap)

You meant to work on your novel or follow through on the launch plan you swore you’d stick to this time, but then you got this weird urge to do literally anything else. Suddenly, folding laundry felt like freedom.

That’s the Rebel Revenant. He shows up with defiance when a task feels imposed, forced, or loaded with expectation, or as the fun-seeker who wants novelty, dopamine, and creative freedom.

How to Banish the Rebel Revenant

This monster feeds on anything that feels like it’s boring or like you “should” do it. The trick isn’t to push harder, but to reframe the task so it feels like a fun choice, not a drab command.

1. Make it yours.

To reclaim your creative fire, you need to feel like you’re driving instead of being dragged.

Try this:

• Reword your to-dos in your own voice. Instead of “Outline chapter three,” try “Play with what happens next.”
• For marketing, stop copying someone else’s formula. Create your own version of visibility. Hate video? Try audio. Hate social media? Focus on email or collaborations.
• Ask yourself: “If I were doing this my way, what would that look like?”

2. Add play—or a tiny rebellion.

If it feels too serious or structured, you’ll ghost it. So bend the rules. Add a twist.

Try this:

• Set a kitchen timer and race yourself. Write one messy paragraph before it dings.
• For marketing, post something honest, weird, or wildly off-brand just to see what happens.
• Give yourself one “free pass” day per week with no guilt. When you know you’re allowed to skip, you’re less likely to do so.

3. Create goals that leave room to roam.

Rigid checklists make the Rebel Revenant cranky. You need structure, but with wiggle room.

Try this:

• Set flexible outcome-based goals. Instead of “write every day,” try “finish two scenes this week.”
• Pick from a menu of tasks: “Today I’ll do one of these five things.” (Not all, just one.)
• For marketing, build in spontaneity. Have a list of quick “fun” posts or ideas you can draw from when the mood strikes.

What’s Your Monster?

I created a free quiz to help you identify which monster has been haunting you (in non-Halloween language). It takes just a few minutes, and the results will give you real insight into why you keep stalling out.

Go on. Shine a flashlight into the dark corners of your writing brain. What you find might finally set you free.

The post What Kind of Writing Monster Is Lurking in Your Brain? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Bookshelf Muse is a hub for writers, educators and anyone with a love for the written word. Featuring Thesaurus Collections that encourage stronger descriptive skills, this award-winning blog will help writers hone their craft and take their writing to the next level.

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