"Burnout" is the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that leads to a decrease in productivity. Writer burnout happens when a writer finds themselves not feeling any sort of passion for their work.
Photo by Sebastian Sørensen
Now, I love a good slow-burn romance, but a slow burnout? Not so much. A slow burnout looks a lot like sitting down and not getting any work done, or struggling to get words onto the page, or avoiding sitting down to work at all, and it will seriously affect our productivity if it's not addressed.
Early signs of writer burnout include a lack of motivation to get to work or a lack of excitement about our current project. It looks a lot like a lack of energy that can leave us feeling depressed or irritable. We may even dread going to the page because we know the writing isn't going "well."
But if we can learn to recognize burnout at the onset, we may be able to rest and recharge before it gets too severe.
(We need your stories, so please don't throw in the towel just yet.)
The best way to figure out how to recharge your writing batteries is to take a step back from your work. Try to focus on something else for a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few days. It can be as simple as doing the dishes or straightening up your desk. You can try meditating or taking long walks outside. Personally, I use movies to recharge. (Hello, Netflix!)
If you feel like you're in a rut and still want to write (especially if you're on a deadline), try going somewhere that's not your usual writing environment. Instead of writing in bed, head to a local coffee shop. Instead of writing in the morning, write at night.
If you're not on a deadline, change up your format or genre. Instead of writing romance, try a mystery. If you were working on a novel, turn your attention to a short story or a poem. If you write on a laptop, pull out a pen.
It's a truth that bears repeating: writing is not always fun. There are good writing days and not-so-good writing days.
On those not-so-good days, focus on the long game, the end game, and try to remember your "why."
Think about the readers you want to connect with. Think about the characters you want them to relate to or the storyline that you'll use to pull them away from reality for a few hours. Think about all the ways you'd like to inspire them and the message you want to impart.
Most importantly, keep in mind that for everything there is a season.
There is a season for writing, and there is a season for resting, and taking periods to rest is just as beneficial to your writing practice as "sitting down to write every day."
In fact, it's one of the best ways to...
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
