Managing Writing Anxiety with Rhonda Douglas {ep. 224}
June 17, 2026
Writer's block isn't a character flaw — it's your nervous system trying to protect you. Book coach Rhonda Douglas of Resilient Writers joins Alexa to unpack creative anxiety, biologic hacks that calm your sympathetic nervous system, why pantsers need just enough outline, and how to train your brain that writing feels good.
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If you've ever planned to write and then found yourself at the fridge, opening research tabs, or scrolling Instagram instead, this episode is for you. Rhonda Douglas — host of the Resilient Writers Radio Show, creator of the First Book Finish program, and award-winning poet and fiction writer — returns to talk with Alexa about the creative anxiety that follows every writer, no matter how many books they've published. Rhonda reframes writer's block as a nervous-system response rather than a failure of willpower, then offers concrete, repeatable tools: three-minute deep-breathing resets, adult coloring as a "palette cleanser," seasonal writing rituals that engage all five senses, and the "brick by brick" mindset that lets a book get built in 20-minute layers. The conversation also digs into structure — why even die-hard pantsers benefit from an "essential book outline" that respects fundamental story beats (a lesson Rhonda learned the hard way after pantsing a mystery and discovering the wrong murderer two-thirds through her draft). Whether you're fitting writing in around a full-time job and family or wrestling with self-doubt on book number eight, you'll leave with a toolkit for getting back to calm and laying down the next 200 words.
If you've ever planned to write and then found yourself at the fridge, opening research tabs, or scrolling Instagram instead, this episode is for you. Rhonda Douglas — host of the Resilient Writers Radio Show, creator of the First Book Finish program, and award-winning poet and fiction writer — returns to talk with Alexa about the creative anxiety that follows every writer, no matter how many books they've published. Rhonda reframes writer's block as a nervous-system response rather than a failure of willpower, then offers concrete, repeatable tools: three-minute deep-breathing resets, adult coloring as a "palette cleanser," seasonal writing rituals that engage all five senses, and the "brick by brick" mindset that lets a book get built in 20-minute layers. The conversation also digs into structure — why even die-hard pantsers benefit from an "essential book outline" that respects fundamental story beats (a lesson Rhonda learned the hard way after pantsing a mystery and discovering the wrong murderer two-thirds through her draft). Whether you're fitting writing in around a full-time job and family or wrestling with self-doubt on book number eight, you'll leave with a toolkit for getting back to calm and laying down the next 200 words.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Creative anxiety never fully goes away — and that's normal. Even multi-published, award-shortlisted authors feel it, because every new book is one you haven't written yet. The skill isn't eliminating anxiety; it's noticing it and returning to a regulated state.
- Writer's block is nervous-system regulation. Anxiety and fear activate the sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight/freeze/fawn). Good creative work happens in the parasympathetic state — grounded, centered, calm — so the goal is triggering that system before and during writing.
- Use "biologic hacks" to reset in three minutes. Rhonda's go-tos: deep breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth (observed mindfully, like a mini-meditation) and adult coloring. Set a timer, reset, then write. Think of it as a palette cleanser between the rest of your life and your creative time.
- "Brick by brick" beats "go, go, go." Books get built in consistent layers — 20 minutes here, 200 words there. The pressure to make a short session "perfect" is itself a block. Two hundred words is 200 you didn't have before.
- Even pantsers need just enough outline. Rhonda's "essential book outline" respects fundamental story structure: who is your protagonist at the start, what do they want, what's in their way (internal and external), and who are they at the end? Genre beats and obligatory scenes remove huge amounts of anxiety because you know what has to happen.
- Build a personalized writing ritual to train your brain. Engage the five senses (music, a signature drink, a small treat, candles, texture) so your brain learns writing feels good — instead of "why is this so hard?" Rhonda swaps hers seasonally.
- There's no such thing as a bad writing session. Treating sessions as failures teaches your brain to avoid the work. Every time you show up for your book, it counts — 50 words or 450.
- Accountability and community are non-negotiable for most working writers. Coaching, critique groups, retreats, body-doubling at a coffee shop, and writing sprints with a friend keep you moving when life is full.
REFERENCES & LINKS MENTIONED
- Rhonda Douglas — Resilient Writers: resilientwriters.com
- Resilient Writers Radio Show (Rhonda's podcast)
- First Book Finish — Rhonda's year-long coaching program (draft → revise → edit → prepare for publishing)
- Rhonda on Instagram: @resilientwriters
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (referenced re: incremental writing)
- Anne Lamott, Nora Roberts (mentioned)
- Yo-Yo Ma / Bach Cello Suites, Taylor Swift (Rhonda's and Alexa's writing playlists)
- WIP Business Bootcamp — August 2026 (build a sustainable, legal, profitable author/publishing business)
- WIP Society — year-round membership: virtual Summit ticket, three bootcamps/year, monthly Q&As, networking, weekly writing sprints, and community accountability — mywipsociety.com
- Women in Publishing Summit: womeninpublishingsummit.com
Rhonda Douglas is the host of the Resilient Writers Radio Show and the creator of the First Book Finish program, a year-long coaching experience that supports writers from first draft through revision, editing, and the decisions that prepare a manuscript for publishing. An award-winning writer of poetry and fiction, Rhonda helps writers build the craft skills and nervous-system tools they need to finish their books and sustain a writing life. She lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her cocker spaniel, Mr. Darcy. Find her at resilientwriters.com and on Instagram @resilientwriters.
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