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:
This however is different. I’m coming off my 4th 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)