How to Keep Writing When You Hate Everything You're Producing

I deleted 600 words from my new novel this morning. 

Not because they were objectively bad, but because I hated them. Every sentence felt forced. Every idea felt obvious. Every word choice felt wrong. As a draft, I couldn't stand to read them back, let alone ferociously turn them into something mildly readable. 

I've been in this phase for two weeks, where everything I write feels terrible.

But I'm still writing every day, even though I hate what's coming out.

Here's how.

The Hatred Is Normal

If you hate everything you're producing, you're not broken. You're just a writer who's developed taste faster than skill.

You know what good writing looks like, and you can identify it when you read it.

You just can't produce it consistently yet.

That gap - between what you can recognise as good and what you can actually create - is where the hatred lives.

It's not a sign you should quit. It's a sign you're improving and that you care about what you do. 

Bad Writing Days Happen

There is also a possibility that you're in a writing rut, for reasons outside of your control or that have nothing to do with your skill as a writer, per se. 

Bad Writing Day Type 1: You hate what you're writing because you're tired, distracted, or having an off day.

Solution: Write anyway. It's probably not as bad as you think. But if you can't continue, take a break, rest, relax and come back to it tomorrow. Tiredness is temporary in this situation. 

Bad Writing Day Type 2: You hate what you're writing because you can see the quality gap, and it's crushing you.

Solution: Write anyway. But differently.

I'm in Type 2. This is the harder one to overcome. 

Lower The Writing Bar To The Floor

My normal standard: write something (almost) worth publishing. Don't write complete trash, but recognise that it's not perfect and will need editing. 

My hatred-phase standard: write literally anything. Get something on paper and don't give any attention to the quality of what's being produced. One sentence counts as much as a rambling paragraph. Three bad ideas count.

The goal isn't quality. It's showing up, and that has to be enough when you're hating what you're writing. 

Separate "Writing" From "Producing"

I stop trying to produce finished work.

Instead, I write:

• Messy notes
• Stream of consciousness
• Half-formed ideas
• Questions I don't have answers to

I'm writing. But I'm not trying to produce anything good.

Write The Worst Version On Purpose

Instead of trying to write well and hating the result, I intentionally write badly.

I write the most cliché, obvious, boring version I can. I get it out, move it from my head and onto the paper, and I accept it's terrible.

Then I can fix it later. Or not. At least it exists, and it's left my brain. 

Permit Yourself Not To Publish

Not everything I write needs to be published.

When I hate what I'm producing, I tell myself: "This is just practice, going through the moments, repeating until I get better. Nobody will see this."

The pressure lifts, and the words flow more easily.

Sometimes the "practice" writing turns out usable, which is a bonus during the bad times. Sometimes it doesn't. Either way, I wrote and practised my craft.

Remind Yourself It's Temporary

I've been through this before, more times than I care to admit. I can attest that the hatred passes. I can't tell you how long it will take for you, but it will happen. 

For me, in a week or two, I'll write something I don't hate. The gap will close slightly, and I'll feel capable again.

This is just the valley, and you have to write through it to get to the other side.

Don't Stop Writing 

If you stop writing when you hate everything, you reinforce a dangerous pattern:

"I only write when it feels good."

But most writing doesn't feel good. Most writing feels challenging, mediocre, and frustrating. If you only write on good days, you'll write 10% of the time.

You need to write on the days you hate it. That's when the habit gets built.

Quitters stop when it feels bad. They wait for inspiration. They protect themselves from producing bad work.

Finishers write through the bad. They show up even when they hate what they're making. They trust the process.

I'm trying to be a finisher.

That means writing on days when I'm convinced I've forgotten how to write, when every sentence feels like pulling teeth, when I'd rather do literally anything else.

Try Editing Breaks

I can't evaluate quality when I'm in hatred mode. I'm too negative about everything.

So I don't try. I write. I save. I walk away.

A week later, I come back, reread, and start the editing process with a fresh outlook on the process and my skills.

Sometimes it's actually terrible, and I delete it, but more often, it's better than I thought. 

The hatred was in my head, not on the page.

Change The Way You Talk To Yourself

As much as this can sound airy-fairy advice, writing is a solo endeavour that channels more mental strength and fortitude than people are willing to admit. It means you need to be kind to yourself inside your mind.

"This is not permanent." The hatred will pass. It always does.

"Bad writing is better than no writing." I can fix bad. I can't fix blank.

"I'm building the muscle, not the masterpiece." Today's goal is showing up, not producing gold.

"Every writer goes through this." I'm not uniquely bad. I'm normally struggling.

"The habit matters more than the output." As long as I write, the habit stays alive.

Don't Wait For A Feeling Change

You cannot stop writing and wait for it to feel good again.

If you stop, you break the habit, and breaking the habit makes it harder to start again.

Then you're stuck in a loop: stop because you hate what you're producing → lose the habit → feel worse → hate writing even more → avoid starting again.

Keep writing through the hatred. The habit survives. When the hatred passes (and it will), you're still writing.

Keep Writing

I've been through this cycle before.

I hate everything for 2–3 weeks. Then something shifts.

One day, I write something that doesn't make me cringe. Then another. Then I have a good writing day.

The gap closes slightly, and my skill catches up to my taste a little.

Then the cycle repeats. I get better, my taste improves, the gap opens again, I hate everything, I write through it, I get better.

This is how growth happens, not through inspiration but through showing up when it sucks.

If you hate everything you're producing right now, keep writing.

Lower your standards. Write the bad version. Permit yourself to produce garbage. But whatever you do, don't stop.

Eventually, you'll write something you don't hate. And you'll be glad you kept going.

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I write about the emotional and practical reality of being a writer - drafting, doubt, discipline, and publishing while still figuring it out.

Mostly for people who write because they have to, need to, want to | https://linktr.ee/ellenfranceswrites