Avoiding Writer Burnout
Avoiding Writer Burnout
As a writer, I realize how important it is to come to grips with pace. I’m not talking about the pace in plot that keeps readers engaged, although that of course is crucial. I’m taking about the day to day pacing of all of the activities that writers undertake. Whether self-published or published, young or old, full time or part-time, writing and getting a book to market eats up huge chunks of a writer’s day, and most of each week.
I didn’t publish my first novel until I was well into my sixties, so I feel I can talk from experience on this. You see, for over thirty years writing was my hobby. I took it seriously enough, wrote lots of short stories, even won first place in a fiction contest put on by the Toronto Writers and Editors Network. But I didn’t consider writing full time until much later than most writers, so instead of feeling pressured when I wrote, it was more of an enjoyable pastime. I had a good long look at the business before I took it on full time.
When I jumped in with both feet of course, I took on other commitments. Publishers and the people who’ve worked on my books have a big interest in the success of the projects, so there’s much more of a time investment required of me now. I’ve learned quickly that from a productivity point of view, and in consideration of my age, how important pacing is. I’ve also developed a tremendous respect for younger writers who have to manage careers and jobs, as well as raise their children. Middle aged writers too, often have no choice but to keep their day jobs, and they take on another huge load to keep at the writing. All of them take on a more intense pace of life than I would now.
Regardless, I believe all writers have to manage pace very carefully to avoid burnout.
Seven Things I Do to Avoid Burnout.
Understand why I write. Do I write for fame or fortune? No. Although I wanted my writing to reach as many people as possible, and we all have egos, it was never about either of these. Naturally, I appreciate the opportunity to earn extra income and I like the feeling of accomplishment. But for me, the writing is a creative expression and release that fills another basic need. I need to tell stories, and I want to do it in writing.
Each writer has their own reason, for some it will be the money; and there’s nothing wrong with that. For others it will be notoriety; that’s fine too. Some just want to be storytellers, and that’s noble. Historically humans have always been storytellers. Unfortunately modern opinion has placed a stigma on writers that aren’t shooting to make the ‘lists’, or who don’t write ‘literary’ fiction. Times are changing, thank God, and the revolutionary methods of distribution available to writers mean, that with commitment they have every opportunity to get their stories out there.
Establish clearly defined productivity goals. I have goals for word counts and the number of posts on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I’ve also started posting one blog a week on my website blog. All of my productivity goals are time bounded, realistic (for example my daily word count is 500), and measurable. When a dead line is approaching, I can allow some flex or stretch to my tasks and my objectives.
Use a daily task list for each objective. If I miss for some reason, I don’t stress over it. I have a life to live. Once in a while life gets in the way, and when it does that’s usually good.
Manage my activity and my expectations. I write, I complete my tasks, and I review my results. Once they’re in, the results can’t be changed. But my activities can be adjusted and fined tuned to impact future results. That’s it; it doesn’t need to get more complicated than that.
Commit to completing my writings and my tasks. Loose ends and unfinished projects can nag; I like to get them out of the way. I also schedule specific times for research and learning, keep a writing and marketing tips note book, and use Pinterest a lot for research material. That keeps everything handy and stops me from fishing for the same information repeatedly.
Celebrate my victories (big or small), and then I let them go. I go out for lunch or dinner or away for a few days with my wife for bigger celebrations, and maybe I’ll have an evening cocktail or go out for a coffee for the little ones.
Step away frequently. I take regular breaks and make a point of standing up and walking around for five minutes every hour. I will schedule ‘free days’, and that means no writing, no research, no writing related tasks, not even reading, because reading is a definite related task for a writer. On ‘free days’, I try to not even think about writing, and all writers know how difficult that is. Actually, it’s practically impossible. But honest, I try.
