Category: writer’s writing process

Re-blogged Author Interview

September 20, 2022 / Chiara

Hello friends,

I had the pleasure of being a guest on Kristena Mears website. You can check it out her page here. She allowed me to post all things writing and my books.

See below.

Interview With Chiara Talluto

The Writer’s Burnout Effect

January 20, 2021 / Chiara

The worst thing that can happen to a writer is becoming “blocked” in their writings. If you do a search on “overcoming writer’s block” on the internet, you’ll find almost five million results.

What about writer’s burnout? I did a search and found over thirty-nine million results. That’s extraordinary. In my author circles, being blocked seems to supersede burnout. It looks like I may be wrong according to the web or maybe nobody wants to talk about “burnout” because that would mean you’ve failed or are a quitter.

Thinking of the difference between blocked and burnout has led me to do additional research.

Writer’s Block Versus Writer’s Burnout. Burnout is something that happens when someone is stressed and overworked for too long.
Writer’s burnout lasts longer than your typical writer’s block and is a lot harder to overcome.
Writer’s block is looking at a page, unable or unsure how to put what is in your head on the page.

I bring this subject up only because I needed to find the distinction between “blocked” and “burnout”. I’ve written about writer’s block, see:

I’m in Limbo

Writer Depression

The Non-Intentional Detour

This however is different. I’m coming off my 4^th book release, “She Made It Matter”. I did blogs, podcasts, interviews, and then the holidays hit, and now here we are almost at the end of January, and I’m utterly exhausted. I’m at a loss and desire to reinvent myself with other writing projects, and I’m struggling in finding other means of promoting my book.

My home life has been a bit chaotic too; my kids are doing both eLearning and hybrid (in-person learning), and there has been many stressors affecting my creativity. So, I thought I had writer’s block, as I’ve been having difficulty writing anything. But now, I realize it might be burnout.

“Burnout can be defined as a loss of enthusiasm, energy, idealism, perspective, and purpose; it has been described as trying to run a marathon at full speed.”― Kathleen Kendall-Tackett Ph.D.

So, I made a list of my issues plaguing my creative juices:

Lack of time to devote to my craft,
Too many outside stressors requiring my attention,
Wanting everything to be perfect in shorter amount of time,
Not having enough patience. Wanting things done right away,
Accepting too many other projects and not focusing on my own writings.

I found that that the biggest factors were #1 and #5.

I was having trouble saying “no” and accepting things when my plate was overflowing, and therefore wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do, and even take care of myself. Too many distractions and noise was crowding my life.

One of my favorite quotes is this:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” ― Henry David Thoreau

I’m feeling I need to go into the woods right now and do a little living deliberately. I often tell people that my two biggest addictions are reading and writing. I explain it this way…

“I have two addictions: reading and writing. I feel restless and empty when I can’t read fiction, write my deepest thoughts in my journal, or even write down story ideas. Writing calms me, centers me, and provides a healthy outlet for my communication with imaginary friends.”

So, what can I do to re-energize myself?

Take care of my mental and physical being first and foremost with food, drink, and exercise.
Take the time to read books and write at leisure instead of on a time schedule.

I also need to give myself grace to slow down and not always be doing things to please others. And maybe, just maybe, I can get into writing again.

I ran across something interesting: “give my busy mind a vacation.”

That sounds really good right now. A mind vacation. I think that’s what I need. Hmm…no need to reflect on it further.

Have you felt burnout in writing? What did you do? I’d love to hear your best practices.

Until next time…

Be well. Be safe. Be happy.

Resources

How to Overcome Writer’s Burnout (thewritepractice.com)

4 Effective Ways to Beat Writer’s Burnout | Positive Writer

Burnout for Writers | Psychology Today

Burnout Quotes (102 quotes) (goodreads.com)

Writer’s Burnout: Causes, Conditions, and Cures | Two Drops of Ink: A Literary Blog

Writer’s Burnout—it’s really real – BennettInk.com

18 Tips to Overcome Writer’s Burnout | WTD (writetodone.com)

The Art of Being Real

November 1, 2020 / Chiara

Donald J. Trump wrote “The Art of the Deal,” I’m a writer whose penned tall tales while trying to stay real and true to my writing.

We can agree that this 2020 year has been interesting. For those of us publishing books whether it’s been via traditional publishers, or like me, indie publishing, things have certainly been more challenging.

Reading is up. Statistics will tell us. See References below.

I’ve been reading a lot more too while preparing my latest release, “She Made It Matter”. An Inspirational/Christian drama about one woman’s fight to regain sobriety, find salvation, and earn forgiveness after years of guilt from being abandoned by her mother and then losing her brother to cancer, a struggle to vanquish the demons of her past and make her life right again.

And, since I’ve had the time, I’ve also been experimenting with a lot more tools and resources to get exposure for my book. Will it help? I don’t know. Time will tell.

Any published author will also tell you that promotion and marketing are the most challenging of responsibilities when it comes to publishing. I’m normally a shy person, but I’ve had to dig really deep to find my courage and push myself beyond the limits to “seize the moment”.

Here are a few takeaways and things I did on my social media platforms that may help a fellow author or two:

For five weeks leading up to the release of my book, “She Made It Matter,” I documented and shared what I call, “Visual Storyboarding”. When I write a story, I visualize the scenes in my mind and then transpose it into words. Using my book jacket verbiage, I utilized Pixabay.com and Pexels.com to create the images for the verbiage. Every week, I’d create a picture collage with the verbiage and post it on all my social media platforms. See final results here.
Then, taking all the photos, I created the “She Made It Matter” book trailer. I used Movie Maker, It’s free and I downloaded it onto my PC (I use Windows 10). I also tapped into pixabay.com/music to add to the video and voila’. See it here.
I created a YouTube channel a few years ago, but never really utilized it to its potential. Now, I am using it to upload my videos.
I put together a Storytime video in which I read the first chapter of “She Made It Matter” aloud.
I created graphics to be used in my videos using Canva.com.
For my email fans/friends/family, I’ve sent out weekly communication using Mailchimp.com .

I’ve talked to myself and to my computer camera more than I’ve wanted to. Lol! But, I believe the best conversations are with yourself, anyway.

So, I’ve put myself out there. I’ve tripped up and stumbled on those videos, but I’ve still kept them true to its form because I’m not a “Hollywood” star, or a renowned bestselling author. “… I’m just a ‘nobody’ who uses storytelling to encourage others to find their purpose and save their souls.”

The reality is, like my characters who are flawed, and because I write realistic drama with an inspirational/Christian flare, I too, am flawed and broken. I want my readers to know that I’m a real person. And, writing is not glamourous work. For me, it’s dutiful, inspiring, life changing, and adventurous.

I often tell people that I have two addictions: reading and writing. I feel restless and empty when I can’t read fiction, write my deepest thoughts in my journal, or even write down story ideas. Writing calms me, centers me, and provides a healthy outlet for my communication with imaginary friends.

I am the communication tool to share and showcase my characters. If they influence readers to be better versions of themselves, then why not? If my writing directs someone to open up their Bible, then so be it. If my writing only touches the few, then I’ve done my job. I write for an audience of ONE, my savior, Jesus Christ. He gave me the gift of storytelling, and I am obliged to honor that.

So, if anything I’ve learned during Coronavirus and quarantine is that I can take chance. I can RESTART just where I am. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

So, fellow writes/authors/readers don’t be afraid to be REAL. The world is full of fakes and falsities already.