Episode Description:
In this episode of What If? For Authors, Claire unpacks the hidden dynamics behind creative inertia. She explores why we freeze at the starting line, how to tell if it’s a sign of fear, exhaustion, or wisdom, and what to do when you can’t seem to move forward—no matter how hard you try.
You’ll learn how to distinguish between procrastination and protection, why shame and “tough love” don’t actually help, and how to use curiosity and compassion to get yourself unstuck. With insight from the Enneagram, Claire also explores how each type experiences this resistance differently—and how you can build gentle, practical structures to help yourself begin again.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why struggling to start isn’t laziness—it’s information
How to tell if your resistance is a pattern or a novelty, and why that matters
What “body doubling” is, and how it can help Enneagram Nines build momentum
How each Enneagram type tends to resist getting started (and what to do about it)
Why friction can be a good sign for naturally fast starters
How to check whether your resistance is fear, intuition, or simply exhaustion
A powerful exercise to check in with your head, heart, and body centers before beginning
What it really means to act courageously—even when the fear doesn’t go away
Takeaway Challenge:
Next time you can’t seem to get started, pause the shame spiral and turn to curiosity. Ask: Is this fear? Fatigue? A sign to pause? Then, listen to what your head, heart, and body have to say. If it’s still something worth doing, plan for courage—don’t wait for the fear to disappear first.
Support the Show:
If this episode helped you see your resistance in a new light, please share it with another author who might need to hear it too. You can also support What If For Authors by leaving a review wherever you listen—it helps more writers find the show.
Want to explore these ideas more deeply? Visit liberatedwriter.com for Claire’s courses, coaching, and books on building a sustainable author career in uncertain times.
Happy writing!
TRANSCRIPT:
Claire: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of What If for Authors. I'm glad you're here. My name's Claire Taylor and I'm an Enneagram certified coach for authors as well as a humor and mystery writer. All my services courses and books for authors can be found@liberatedwriter.com. Go check it out. If you're curious about how you can build a more sustainable author career in uncertain times, today's topic is one that I know a lot of folks struggle with.
It seems to be more of a common problem that I hear when the economy is struggling and when people are financially stressed, which isn't all that surprising. So I wanna put some minds at ease today and let you know that the fear and frustration you might be feeling around this topic doesn't have to eat up all your attention and energy.
That's why today's episode asks, what if I can't get started?
What does this look like? This generally looks like, I know the first [00:01:00] step, but I can't seem to take it. Maybe that first step is opening the manuscript. Maybe it's reaching out to friends for, you know, cross promotion. Maybe it's just getting out of bed. I've been there for all of these examples. I think most writers have. That initial kick of energy to break the inertia, it's just not coming through. Or maybe every time you think about starting the important thing, you suddenly find yourself doing a bunch of less important things.
There can be a stigma that a masses like a gray cloud around this problem. We feel ashamed, lazy, immature, and we may even try all manner of tough love on ourself to just take that initial step. Now sometimes. Talking shit to ourselves works a little bit, but it doesn't work every time, and this is important.
The price we pay for that is hurting our connection with ourself, so it can't be [00:02:00] our only tool here, and in fact, it may not be a tool that you want to use at all.
Struggling to get started on something can spiral into this big mess if we don't interrupt those patterns, de-stigmatize the experience and switch our minds into curiosity. So that's what I wanna help out with today. The curiosity part, there are a lot of important questions we can ask ourselves to analyze what's happening when we're struggling to get started, and none of them are.
Why are you such a procrastinating piece of trash? Yay. Let's say you know what to do, but you just can't seem to start the action of it. This isn't always a bad thing. This isn't a fault or failure. This is the start of an inquiry. What's going on here? Give yourself a moment to pause before you start having feelings about it.
In that moment, start asking [00:03:00] questions.
Now, my first question would be, is this a longstanding pattern for you or is your trouble getting started? More of a novelty? In this case, neither is better than the other, but I'd approach the situation differently depending on the answer. So if it's a pattern, then you might simply want to develop some scaffolding around getting started on new things.
For example, Enneagram nines have a pattern of struggling to get started on things. Building up momentum solo tends to be way more difficult for them than it is for say, a three. Nines usually berate themselves for this because they've internalized an expectation that they should be able to get started on things without help from others.
It's that idea of like if they wanted to, they would. Right. We hear that a lot. That's just made up though. You don't have to give it any credence. Some rando decided that it was a thing and then they said it, and maybe it's true for them, but I've delved deep [00:04:00] with enough folks who really, really want to, but they can't.
They just can't. , and so it's not a universal saying here, right? It's not a truth.
So if you notice that struggling to get started is a pattern for you, especially if you're an Enneagram nine, stop expecting that to change. Instead, agency in this situation looks like finding someone to work alongside who doesn't generally struggle with getting started on things. Now, I've heard this called body doubling.
You can call it what you want, and here's why it's so important for nines in particular. If you're motivated by being connected to others as you are with a nine, then a lot of the tasks in publishing are so low, and focusing your attention on them intensely may trigger a fear of being disconnected from others.
Focusing intently on that one action may feel like you are disconnecting from everyone else.
Nines are [00:05:00] exceptional at matching the energy of those around them. This is why they're great mediators and peacekeepers, so why not use that in expert level by working alongside people whose energy you want to match? This is probably the closest thing to a hack that I know of with the Enneagram nines.
Once you get past the stigma around. Needing others to help you build momentum. You really unlock this incredible superpower. Wanna be more creative? Go hang out with your creative friends. Wanna be bolder? Go hang out with your bold friends. Allow yourself to be influenced, but be intentional about what influence you're inviting in.
If you're not a nine, you may also find that trouble getting started is a pattern for you. If that's the case, try spotting a pattern among what you struggled to get started with. So there are surely some things that you can start without a problem, right?
Maybe loading the dishwasher, not a [00:06:00] problem, right? Maybe it is a problem, but whatever it is, figure out what, what? Can you start without it being a problem? And now what's the difference between what you can start without a problem and what you're struggling to start. What commonalities are there between the tasks that you struggle to start?
Are they all work-related tasks now. Twos, you might find it more difficult to get started on tasks that you view as benefiting you more than other people. The twos are the helpers, of course, sevens. The enthusiasts, you might struggle to get started on tasks that feel like you're committed once you start, or that you suspect will become painful at a certain point.
Ones my reformers. You may struggle to get started on tasks that are fun, but don't come with a strong sense of purpose. You may struggle to get started on the ones that just feel like they're for fun. So what is the nature of the task you're [00:07:00] struggling with and what are its commonalities with other tasks you've struggled to start? You're almost guaranteed to come up with some really interesting theories. When you follow this, sometimes simply seeing the pattern can allow you to jump in with less resistance.
Your mind has been telling you this project is just like X, which is a big pain point, but maybe it's not right. Deconstructing that subconscious assumption can remove a big part of the block.
Now, what if struggling to get started is a novelty for you? One thing I can almost assure you is that you're going to be extra frustrated and flustered. If this is a novelty. If you've ever done any of Becca Simon's strength coaching, then you know that certain strengths can help initiate action.
I have one of those strengths and number two, so I almost never struggle with getting started and that's actually created problems for me. It means I frequently launch into projects [00:08:00] without first considering whether I have the capacity to carry them through, along with everything have going on beside that.
So actually a little friction in getting started. For those of us who usually have none, it can be a really great thing to experience if we let it.
When trouble getting started is a novelty for you, you're less likely to have developed skills to deal with the situation. So your emotions about it may be intense. It can feel like running top speed toward what you thought was an open door, but turns out to be a pain of bulletproof glass, it can shock you on top of just being really painful.
So when this happens to you. A great question to start with before all the feelings and feelings about feelings start crowding in is what else is going on in my life right now that might be making it hard to get started on this? If it's not a pattern, then it might be the [00:09:00] result of circumstance. Maybe you're too maxed out with other things and your inner advocate is saying, Nope, not gonna let you destroy your health with another big project. Maybe that's the resistance you're feeling. Or maybe on some level you realize that you don't have the support or energy or health to start this project that you had back when you started a similar one. Or maybe your gut is holding you back because it knows that the thing you want to start isn't going to do the thing you hope it will do.
I see this sometimes when an author's sales are slowly dipping and you know, maybe this author's built their success on frequent releases. So let's say maybe they're nine books in to the series
each launch has produced less juice for the squeeze, but they're clutching to the idea that the best thing they can do for this series is simply to write the next book. This is common marketing advice, and it holds true sometimes, but if [00:10:00] you're nine books in and you suspect that the 10th book is going to follow the trend of the last few by releasing to a whimper rather than to a bang, you might very well have a hard time getting started on that 10th book, and maybe that's.
Smart. Maybe it's time to pause and reassess if you wanna keep writing this series, if it's, you know, actually doing what you want it to do for you, or if it's time to pivot. These pauses are so important and sometimes struggling to take an action is actually a call for us to pause before taking it to reevaluate, but that is scary.
It can also be hugely freeing if we come up for air and realize, you know, I'm sick of writing this series and it's not making me the money I need, so maybe I can give myself permission to start on that other series. That really excites me
beyond pausing to ask what's going on in your life right now? Ask what's going on in the [00:11:00] world. Has the world changed around you in ways that taking this particular action is less effective, trickier, feels more selfish or pointless and so forth? Maybe it's not you. Maybe it's the situation. Maybe your heart or your gut or your mind suspect that now is not the time to start this project.
Given the larger context of the market or your family, or the country or the world. Maybe something more important is calling you. Now it's worth asking, do you need to start this thing now and do you need to start it at all?
When I suggest that people ask themselves questions like the ones I've mentioned, I'll often get the response. What if I don't hear an answer? Or what if the answer I get back is a big jumbled mess? Yeah, that can certainly happen. If we don't hear an answer, we probably need to slow down and create space for the [00:12:00] answer to show up.
Maybe we need more silence to be able to hear the quiet voice, or maybe we simply don't have enough information yet and we need to go gain that. There are answers, though they may not feel like certainty. However, that's important to note. The reply to your questions may not feel like certainty. More likely, it'll feel like a nudge.
But that's the best information you have to work with right there. So I suggest that you listen to it if it's going to make the effort of replying. I suggest you listen. If the answers you're getting to your questions are met with a jumbled mess, no problem. We can un jumble it. So I would suggest turning to your three centers and addressing them individually.
So start by sitting or lying down somewhere without distractions. Whenever you can. Maybe it's not today, maybe it's, you know, next Tuesday, but create some time for this. [00:13:00] Then take a, a few deep breaths until you can feel your body start to relax. Then ask your head center what it has to say about this project.
So when we're talking about the head center. Focus on the data, the logic, the beliefs you're functioning from about how things work. Is your head center supporting the action or contradicting it?
Is this where the block is coming from? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. What are you expecting the outcome of this action to be, and does that seem accurate for the situation or is that an assumption based on old data that might not be relevant? Once you spend a little time in your head center move down to your heart center?
What emotions is the thought of getting started stirring up in you? Fear, shame, guilt, loneliness, [00:14:00] inadequacy, or do you find that your emotions associated with it, or once you enjoy like excitement, interest, optimism. Take your time with the center, especially if it's unfamiliar to you. When you notice a feeling, especially an unwanted one, all you have to do.
Just sit with it. Don't run away. Emotions aren't harmful, and usually they just need to be listened to. They have useful information inside them. Is there an emotional component to your struggle to get started? What do you need to work with these emotions?
Once you're done with the head and the heart, move down to the body center. Do you feel any tension or any type of physical discomfort when you think about starting this project, does it make you feel tired? Just thinking about it? Does your heart race when you think about it? Notice the physical sensations associated with gooding started and approach them with curiosity.
You may even feel a certain [00:15:00] numbness. That's okay too. What's it all about? That's the question. What's it all about? Sometimes we confuse our intuition with a fear response, so this is a moment to practice. Differentiating between the two, is your intuition telling you this isn't the project for you and that's where the resistance is coming from?
Or is there a fear behind the idea of starting.
And you know, maybe your body is just telling you I'm tired and I need to rest. And you might wanna listen to that when you hear it. Now, a lot of the time when we tune into our body for information like this, we'll notice tension associated with fear. Now fear is important. I'm sure I've talked about this before.
Fear can save our lives. That's what it's designed to do. So we don't wanna shit on fear. You know, my fear of losing all my money keeps me from withdrawing it and going to Vegas to gamble it all the way, right? Other things keep me from doing that. But fear is, is among the team. When I'm trying [00:16:00] to pull out onto a busy road really quick, and I have that.
Sudden thought of, oh, I could dodge a cross before that car comes. Fear will often be the thing that keeps me from hitting the accelerator, which has probably saved my life more than once. Better safe than Sorry, says my fear. So fear really has its place, but it can also go too far. And it's our responsibility to inspect our fear through a critical lens to ask if it's gone beyond being useful for our survival and has crossed into becoming a hindrance to our freedom.
And this is of course, where the Enneagram becomes a huge help. So there's nothing wrong with being afraid of being selfish, right? That's a pro-social fear. It keeps you from stealing everyone's portion to the point where they cut you off from shared resources, and then you are on your own and maybe you die.
Right? But a person can become too scared of being selfish to the point of overcompensation. Now, this may look like giving up their own essential needs, [00:17:00] handing those over to others, and leaving not enough for themselves to thrive. It can look like performing selfless behavior and needing recognition for it. A pattern which many people become a slave to forfeiting their freedom to do what suits them, regardless of what some faceless crowd may think of it. So getting started on something new can trigger these outsized fears in us, and our impulse may be to believe the fear rather than challenge it.
What are you afraid will happen once you get started? Sometimes when we start a new manuscript, especially when it's a story we're excited to write, fear will try to jump us ahead to the end where we release the manuscript and in our fearful imagination, everyone hates it. So your fear may believe that if you let your guard down to enjoy something, that somehow superstitiously summons bad things that come in, blindside you.
Okay? Then what are our [00:18:00] options here? On the one hand, you can never enjoy anything in an attempt to never be blindsided, which doesn't work. Or you can decide to enjoy the writing process, knowing it could be painful to experience criticism of it later down the line. If publishing a book could be painful either way, wouldn't you rather enjoy it while you can, and maybe it won't be painful to release.
We don't know, or maybe practicing all that enjoyment in the writing process will better position you for the jokers who come along and try and ruin your day.
Frequently when I'm working with a client and we isolate the issue of getting started to that core fear of their Enneagram type being triggered, and of course being outsized, the person will say to me, okay, I see that it's outsized. But it's still not going away. Right? Don't expect it to. Maybe it'll ease up a little bit, but the point isn't to wait until the fear is [00:19:00] completely gone.
You know the clouds part, and you feel absolutely great about starting no reservations to be found. We can't let that be the expectation. Yet it often is.
People may hope that in getting to know their core fear, they'll master it and it will no longer rear its ugly head. Sorry to say. That's not the process. The process is to practice taking the first step while you are still afraid. That's called courage. We have to develop our familiarity with taking courageous action.
And certainly it's easier to take that first step once you've seen that the fear behind it is completely, or at least mostly illogical, because that allows you to plan around it being there. For example, let's say you're struggling to get started marketing your serial killer mystery, and let's say you are a type six, the loyalist.
So we work together and discover that your core fear of being unsupported [00:20:00] and without guidance is appearing as a fear that the dark content of the book is going to get you in trouble.
In trouble with who? Sixes don't always know some authority figure. So maybe you're wringing your hands about whether you included too much description of the murder scene, or maybe you didn't include enough. Did you do it right? Are people going to be mad at you and target you for what you wrote? If you're afraid of these things?
Of course marketing is going to be hard to get started on,
but let's say you and I spend some time deconstructing this fear together. I provide you lots of evidence that people will probably not be as mad at you as you think, and that if some people are mad at you, that doesn't mean you're automatically unsafe. So maybe we come up with some breathing practices you can try when you're feeling unsafe, to get you back into that window of tolerance.
And then we can come up with a plan for marketing that [00:21:00] includes scheduling, calming activities right after each action of the marketing plan. Maybe you love swimming. So you email a few authors for cross-promotion opportunities, which is very scary for you. 'cause what if say they say no, right? And then you are up against that fear of being unsupported.
Well send those emails and then you go for a swim after. That's how we plan around the fear existing. Yet ahead of those tasks, you will still feel nerves. You'll be a little afraid. But if you've done the work of deconstructing the fear, you can still act despite the fear. You have that option, and you can do it.
Maybe you need someone you feel safe with on a Zoom call with you while you do it, but at some point it is up to you to say, this is scary, but I can choose to do the scary thing because what's on the other side? Matters to me more. Getting [00:22:00] this book into the hands of people who will love it, getting paid for it.
That matters more to me than always feeling safe. And again, be sure you have a way to return to your center after the bravery, right? Bring yourself down, land the plane safely. Over time acting despite the fear will become easier for you and be met with less internal resistance. You're building muscle here.
That's the way to think about it. When I look back on the things that used to scare me in publishing and life, it's wild because I almost don't feel the fear of them. Now, if I tune in, sure it's there, but I developed the skill chain around acting despite the fear. So the evaluation deconstruction, remembering what's more important than always feeling safe, building in ways to return to safety after the act of courage.
That's the skill. Now, do I still find myself having trouble getting started on things because it's hitting a, a fear that I [00:23:00] haven't fully dealt with yet? Absolutely. But in a lot of ways, I've become stronger, just like in a lot of ways. You can become stronger too, and when you do. You'll likely have an easier time and less frustration with yourself when you struggle to get started on something that passes muster for being added to your life.
So if you're wondering, what if I can't get started? Keep asking yourself questions. Is this a pattern or novelty? Do you actually need to get started on this now or ever? Are you expecting yourself to get started without help? And could you stop expecting that and therefore live a happier life? What are your head, heart, and body saying about this new endeavor?
And if you do find that the new undertaking is worth some of your precious time on earth, are you expecting to stop feeling any fear at all before you take the first step? How can you set yourself up to be courageous about this?
[00:24:00] When you hit that wall, when you're struggling to build the momentum to get started, try thinking of it as an opportunity. It may be an opportunity to take that thing off your plate completely to make room for something better, or even for some rest.
And it's always an opportunity to learn something new about yourself and grow from that into a more courageous way of living.
That's it for this episode. Thanks so much for listening. Be sure to check out liberated writer.com for all the offerings I have coming up soon. I'm Claire Taylor, and I hope you'll join me for the next episode of What If for Authors, happy Writing.