This post is a day late — and technically I could blame the heat entirely… but if I’m being honest, that wouldn’t be the full story.

Yes, the heat has been a lot. I am very English, very fair, and burn with absolutely no warning or mercy. I once got sunburned at a Bon Jovi concert at Milton Keynes Bowl — and that was on a day that was overcast and raining. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not. That’s just the level we’re working at here.

For context, while my hair is a dark mahogany red, my dad is properly bright red-haired — and I have completely inherited his colouring. Which means summer is less “glow” and more “manage the damage”.

So yes, the heat has made everything feel slower, heavier, and harder to focus on.

But.

If I’m being completely honest — the writer’s block was already there before the temperature climbed.

When the Words Just… Don’t

I think sometimes writer’s block gets blamed on the wrong things.

We say:

• “It’s the weather”
• “I’m just tired”
• “I’ll come back to it later”

And sometimes those things are true.

But often, at least for me, it’s something quieter.

It’s not that I can’t write — it’s that I don’t quite want to sit with the thing I’m trying to write.

So instead, I’ve been doing that slightly passive avoidance we all know:

• opening the document
• scrolling a bit
• adjusting a sentence
• closing it again

Telling myself I’ll come back to it when I’m more “in the mood”.

And then the heat arrived — and kindly gave me something practical to blame.

Heat + Writing = Not Friends

That said, the heat really doesn’t help.

At the moment it feels like:

• concentration lasts about 10 minutes max
• everything is slightly too bright
• your brain feels slower than usual
• and even sitting still feels like effort

Writing, which already requires focus, reflection, and emotional energy, suddenly feels like trying to do everything underwater.

And when you’re already a little stuck, it just compounds it.

Letting It Sit (Without Letting It Go)

So instead of forcing it, I’ve mostly stepped back.

Not abandoning the work — just letting it wait.

Because I think there’s a difference between:

• abandoning a piece
• and giving it space to breathe

Right now, mine is definitely in the second category.

I know I’ll come back to it. It just isn’t happening on a strict timetable this week.

And maybe that’s okay.

Small Wins Still Count

Even this post feels like a small step forward.

It’s not the project I “should” be working on. It’s not the scene that’s been sitting half-written.

But it is writing.

And sometimes that’s enough to keep things moving quietly in the background.

So… How Are You All Coping With the Heat?

Genuinely — how is everyone managing?

• Writing less?
• Switching projects?
• Just surviving and calling that a win?

Because right now, I feel like a slightly overheated ghost drifting between documents and cups of water.

And I suspect I’m not the only one.