I’m not there, though I have been, and I never want to be again. But likely I’m going to run into this stage at some point along the way, and I need to be prepared to deal with it. I’m talking about burnout. It’s a symptom that can hit anyone, in any situation. Whether it’s your career, your art, even relationships. It’s the feeling that there is nothing left inside you. All the passion has been sucked away and you’re running on fumes, about to stutter to a halt. Where you once had a drive to accomplish something great, now…meh. Might as well go take a nap, because all you can do is sit there and stare at a blank screen, wondering why your mind won’t wake up. You go on a walk to hash out a new story idea, and all you come back with are sore feet.
I read another blog called DeepGenre, in which Kate Elliott discusses her experiences with burnout. I found my perspective to be pretty similar. I’m one of those writers who tries to do some writing every day. Applying myself to what some might call a daily grind is the only way I can get a steady amount of writing done over any period of time. Otherwise my enthusiasm for a project flags, or I lose focus, or I get distracted by too many other projects that muddy up the waters.
But anything you do on a daily basis is going to become tiresome at some point or another, even writing. Part of it, yes, is perseverance. Sticking through the low, slow points where writing a chapter feels like chewing frozen molasses. However, there is a time when one must step back from the page and realize that you’re scraping the bottom of the bucket, and it’s time for a refill.
My plan(s) for dealing with burnout before and after it hits:
1. Learn to recognize burnout. It might be easy for me to blame the lack of progress on a story due to writer’s block or burnout, when the fact is I just don’t want to spend the mental effort twisting up the latest plot development. But if I’m actually digging a dry well, then no creative effort is going to help until there’s actually something there for the bucket to draw up.
2. Force myself to take breaks. Even when I’m struggling to set a single word to the page, I have a hard time making myself step away from the computer to breathe. I like to maintain at least the illusion of productivity, but it can get to the point of straining a muscle. If you work out too much, you stop getting stronger and can actually damage your body. There have got to be times where I drop the weights take a breather.
3. Distract myself. I often have smaller projects lounging about while I’m focused on a novel manuscript. Short stories. Snippets of poetry. So if the novel is starting to become wearying, or I’m numbing myself by going over the same scene again and again, then, instead of taking a break entirely from writing, I spend a few days working on one of these other endeavors. I think this is a way you can delve into untapped creativity, by forcing it to rise to a different format or literary mode.
4. Write as much as I can while I’m immersed. I should continue to take advantage of the times when I’m in the writing flow, that way if I have to take a break, I’ll feel less pressure from any deadlines (self-imposed or otherwise).
There’s my approach. I also tend to give myself breaks in between larger projects, celebrate whenever I do finish a manuscript, and then give myself at least a week before I pick up anything else. Don’t forget to reward yourself for getting that first draft done. Even taking yourself out to a movie or ordering your favorite take-out can be a great way to encourage yourself to do it again.
I see that smile.