Hope Writes

How To Deal With Writing Burnout

I think there comes a point in many writers’ professional lives when you feel like you don’t have another decent word in you to write. If you’re not careful you can reach a point where you feel like you can’t write anymore. Many writers who reach this point do put down their ink pen and walk away from writing forever.

If you’ve  been there, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Sleepless nights. Confused brain. Wordless books. The evil blinking cursor on a blank page. It’s horrifying for a writer to reach this point.

There are ways you can deal with writing burnout when it happens to you. If you’ve reached that place of writing void, try some of these tips and see if they help you.

Take a step back. I’m going to say that most of writing burnout can be handled simply by taking a step back for a bit. Most of the time, when you begin to feel burned out by writing, it’s because you’ve totally emptied yourself of every worthwhile thought. You’ve probably burned the candle at both ends, so to speak, and are now dealing with an emptied writer’s well. Just take a step back for a day, a week, or even a month. Step away from writing and enjoy life again.

Refill your well. I’ve said this a hundred times, but I’ll say it again. Like my favorite writing author, Julia Cameron advises, it’s important for every artist to refill your well. This isn’t an option. It’s a necessity. It’s like breathing, or eating, or sleeping. You must refill your well. Every time you write something, imagine yourself pouring buckets of water from within yourself. When was the last time you replaced any of that? If your answer is never, then you’ve probably just pinpointed your problem. Get out and refill your well. Drink in from the waters of life. You’ll find new inspiration and ideas when you do.

Join a writing group. A lot of writers think joining a writing group only means giving and receiving critiques on pieces. Not true. There are many writing groups who enjoy meeting and gabbing about the writing life. Sometimes it’s good to just talk about your block, or why you can’t write. You’ll often find that you’re not the only writer struggling with this. And even better, you’ll probably find an accountability partner who will help keep you on track when you need it.

If you’re suffering from writing burnout, the one most important piece of advice I want to give you is that it’s okay to not write for a while. Just because you take a break from writing, that doesn’t mean you’ll never write again.

When you get sick, you see the doctor or take over the counter medicine to heal yourself. So when your writing soul is sick, why not take special care of that, too?

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