On Writing and Burnout
Once upon a time...
That phrase always invokes anticipation in me. It has so much possibility, and promises everything: adventure, romance, mystery, suspense. What world am I entering? What will I discover there? And who will I make friends with/fall in love with/feel like murdering?
I love books. I love reading them, and I love writing them. I love the act of escaping into new worlds, of learning about new places or new skills, of “meeting” new people.
I started writing shortly after I learned how to read. And while there have been some long hiatuses throughout my life (kids, jobs, school will do that), I always went back to writing. Sometimes it was fiction, sometimes it was blogging, but I wrote.
In 2020, when we were in lockdown, I finished my first novel. And then I wrote another, and another, and... eventually, I had 4 novels, a novella, and a short story out, all by December 2022. And it all felt easy. Good. Right.
I’ve been working on a new book since summer of 2022, before my last full-length book was even finished being edited. I have the characters, I have the rough plot outline, I have 50,000 words, which means I’m more than half done! But 2023 was a rough year, and I wrote nowhere near enough words all year long. Since then, trying to get back into a rhythm has been a struggle.
I’ve read a lot on burnout, and it appears that is what I’ve been going through. Exhaustion, lack of creativity, the inability to find both my motivation and my muse. I could sit in front of a blinking cursor all day and nothing would come. I could post on social media, I could even send a newsletter, but actual, productive writing? Very slow going. I managed about 20,000 words in July, and for a moment, I hoped it was over, but no.
Burnout is something that has hit a lot of people hard in the past few years. My writer friends are suffering, but so are my educator friends. It’s like all of a sudden, the tasks and challenges we used to handle with ease are overwhelming. And the demands to be successful in our chosen career(s) have only gotten worse. Teach more courses? Sure. Release two (four, six, MORE) books a year? If you want a writing career, you’d better. Write more, faster, better. Be accessible on social media. Go viral on TikTok. So little of it is within your control, and so much of it is unrealistic! Tuning out the noise becomes impossible, and it starts to eat away at you. It’s exhausting.
So according to the experts, what is the cure for creative burnout? Rest. Doing things that make you happy. Rest. Taking care of your physical self - nutritious food, some exercise, lots of sleep. More rest. (Are you sensing a theme here?) Taking care of your mental health, whatever that means for you - meditation, journaling, therapy. Any and all of those things. And I did a LOT of all of those things during July and early August - even exercise. I walked and swam during the summer, and felt better for it.
But then late August rolled around, and that meant returning to school for the fall semester. Teaching four courses, three of which were basically brand new. Prepping 48+ lectures, practice materials, assignments, exams. Juggling everything required to teach 140+ students. It was a lot. I was probably working 60+ hours a week, and when I was done? I had no energy left to be creative.
All year I took refuge in my happy place: books. I read 134 books in 2023, probably a new record since I started tracking again in 2012. Romance, thrillers, true crime, business ethics. I even read a few books on writing craft. And as much as reading those books were good helping with the recovery from burnout? I also used the as a shield, and a form of procrastination. They take time. If I’m reading, I’m not writing. I absolutely believe that writers must make time to read, but there is too much of a good thing.
I’m not sure I’m fully recovered from burnout, but my desire to write is coming back, so I’m going to try. Work has slowed down a little, too. I’ve recommitted to meeting with my writer’s group at least a few times a month, and they are my happy place when it comes to writing. They are my community. Maybe, with all of those things in place, I can find my muse again?
My word of the year for 2024 is creativity. And I intend to seek out creativity in all aspects of my life. This includes doing things for myself that give me joy: going to concerts, traveling, reading books I want to read (not ones I feel I should), and prioritizing my writing again. It will not be easy, but I feel empty and miserable when I’m not being creative. This is something I need to do.
On the advice of my writing group, I’m going to try to get back into the habit of writing by going back to my roots - blog posts. About what? Everything. What I’m reading, what I’m writing, maybe even some flash fiction to experiment with new ideas I’m working on. I’ll be dabbling in new genres (crime fiction for sure - I’ve found I like murder and forensics), releasing short fiction I’ve written but never published. Today’s long ramble on what burnout has done to me is step one. I’ll probably overshare far too much, too. You’ve been warned.
I hope you stick around to follow my progress. With any luck, I’ll manage to find my way out of burnout and finish this darned book. Maybe I’ll even figure out where I want to go next. If nothing else, you might find some of my ridiculousness entertaining.
And if you or anyone you know is experiencing burnout, here are a few resources I recommend for helping understand where you are, how you got there, and how you can start the recovery process. Some of these are specific to writers and/or creative types, others are more generic and for anyone experiencing burnout. Full disclosure: I’m not a professional therapist, and these are not affiliate links, these are simply resources that have helped me in some way. As always, your mileage may vary.
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D., and Amelia Nagoski, DMA
Dear Writer, Are You in Burnout? by Becca Syme
The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron
The Nourished Writer, a blog written by my romance author hero, Roni Loren
Becca Syme’s Better , Faster Academy newsletter - lots of great material on burnout, creating a sustainable creative life, and more. I have not taken any classes yet, but the one on Burnout calls my name. You can sign up for the newsletter for free, and she has much more material available on her Patreon and in her Facebook group.
How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, by Catherine Price