Wednesday morning in my home office in the attic. I start up my laptop, get myself a cup of coffee, and put on an extra jumper so I will not be interrupted mid-sentence by the freezing of my fingers. I am rested and ready to edit the manuscript of my second novel.

Wait, before I dive into my manuscript, shouldn’t I answer some e-mails? Oh, the washing machine – which is on the other side of this wall – is finished. I might as well get up and hang the laundry to dry. Is it time for my second cup of coffee yet?

Stop, I’m procrastinating. Just start up the damn thing and go. Alright, I can do this. I know it seems like a hurdle I cannot take, but I have done this before. Just take it one step at a time. But where to start? I have looked at it from all sorts of angles. I have asked others for feedback and it was all different. And now I don’t know which should predominate, or what I should do.

Maybe today isn’t the right day. I can also do it next week. It’s not like anyone is waiting for me to deliver…

You have just peeked into my head on an average writing day. Insecurity, fatalism, and loneliness, it’s all part of my mental array when writing. It is hard to keep yourself motivated when there is no one to give you constructive feedback on what you have written, a prompt when you are stuck, or just to cheer you on. How do you get anything done when you have to be your own editor, teacher, and cheerleader?

“Well, yes, you have to be your fire starter,” a friend says when I tell him I struggle with keeping myself motivated. “Your loved ones will tell you how great you’re doing the first three times, but after that, they’ll get fed up with it too.”

Michael Pilarcyk, bestselling author and life coach who became famous with his “mindset for success”, knows all about it. He’s selling his techniques for spiritual growth and business success to hundreds of people for as many Euros, yet whenever he climbs to his attic office, he is as overpowered by these feelings as anyone. And what does he do? He recorded himself reading out loud all-positive reviews of his work. Whenever he has to write, he listens to these first.

I guess we all need support and kind words to be able to get anything on paper at all. While writing, we pour out our hearts, our fantasies, or even our darkest fears. Having to feed our internal fire constantly is tiring and can make us feel lonely and insecure about what we are doing.

So SG is creating a writing huddle where you get warmed figuratively speaking. We deliver tea and cookies, kind words, and support. And you sit down and write. Feel free to drop by every other Thursday starting from October 3rd.

Sanne Helbers, programme maker at Studium Generale TU Delft