Avoiding Writer Burn-Out
How to Keep up Productivity as a Writer
It happens in all creative fields: Burn-out. That dreaded feeling that you can’t possibly produce one more good piece, let alone make a career of being creative. The ideas have dried up, and just the thought of sitting at the keyboard makes you feel weary.
If you’re approaching burn-out, or if you’re in the midst of a serious dry spell in your work, here are a few quick tips to help you avoid a serious case of writer burnout:
- Give yourself a break. Schedule at least one day off each week, even if you have another job and are writing in your “spare time.” Just knowing that you don’t have to write every day can help you feel less pressured.
- Explore new topics. While it’s a good idea to limit your areas of expertise, you may gain renewed energy from exploring new topics. Later, if you are stuck on one topic, you’ll have other subjects to write about. An added bonus: this provides you with additional markets.
- Do something active. Sitting idly at a keyboard waiting for the words to flow can be mentally exhausting. So get moving! Take a walk, head to the gym, or just get up and do 10 minutes of stretching. Just don’t use this as an excuse to procrastinate. Choose a time limit, then get back to work. Even if you’re writing easily, it’s still a good idea to get up and move every hour or so.
- Change topics or even genres if you're getting blocked on the one you're currently working on. Just set your current topic aside and return to it later. Sometimes the change will help stop the writer burnout before it gets too bad.
So what do you do if you’re already burned out?
Try a Change of Scenery
In her now-classic book for writers, Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg recommends writing in cafes and restaurants.
“It’s good to change the scenery from time to time, and at home there is the telephone, the refrigerator, the dishes to be washed, a shower to be taken, the letter carrier to greet. It’s good to get away. Also, if you made the effort to get to a café, you can’t leave so quickly to do something else the way you can do at home,” Goldberg writes.
Goldberg describes the mind as a trickster that comes up with lots of other activities to occupy you when you should be writing. She offers plenty of suggestions for avoiding burn-out and getting down to the business of writing.
Find or Start a Support Group
Sometimes just knowing that you need to have a fresh new piece for next week’s writing group can be enough incentive to get you writing again. Writing can be a very solitary business, so groups can give you new opportunities to spend time with people.
Online writing groups can give you good daily support, but they can also be a distraction from the business of writing. For full-time freelancers, getting out of the house to attend a writers’ group meeting can provide a much-needed break in the writing routine.
Finding Your Balance
As you can see from the above suggestions, The real key to avoiding burn-out is to maintain a balance between writing and the rest of your life. Feed the inner writer on a regular basis, and your writing should flow more readily.
Simple Solutions Will Keep You Writing
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