When Life moves faster than the Pen: on writing while moving (or not writing at all)

I had big plans. Pages to fill, stories to shape, and characters who—only a few weeks ago—were whispering in my ear, begging to be brought to life. But life, as it does, had other ideas.

I moved from Dubai to Abu Dhabi recently. Although it's only next door to Dubai, the chaos remains the same. Endless boxes, the logistics, the emotional dust that settles into everything. Your world shrinks down to cardboard, tape, and the sinking feeling that you’ve lost at least one important charger. Writing? That felt like a luxury I couldn’t afford.

Creative energy is a funny thing. It doesn’t thrive on chaos, at least not the real-life kind. It prefers quiet corners, half-filled notebooks, long walks, and moments of stillness. It doesn’t tend to visit when you're comparing internet providers or wondering which drawer you packed your favorite mug in.

There’s guilt, of course. The ever-present feeling that you should be writing. That real writers don’t let things like moving, stress, or general survival get in the way. But here’s the truth: sometimes, life gets messy. Sometimes your creativity steps aside so your life can reassemble itself. And maybe that’s okay.

Maybe the writing doesn’t vanish—it just waits. Quietly. Patiently. Until you’ve found your way through the clutter and chaos and into a new rhythm. Until you’ve made a little space again for daydreams, and words, and long, rambling paragraphs that don’t begin with a to-do list.

If you’re in that liminal space right now—between homes, between thoughts, between pages—give yourself some grace. The words will return. The stories haven’t left you. They’re just moving with you, waiting for the dust to settle.