Writing Tips Wednesdays: Dealing With Writer Burn-Out

I've been a writer for a long time. For most of my writing career, I have ghost written for other people. I often get burnout writing other people's ideas. So that is why I decided I was tired of writing for other people and I wanted to write something for myself. Enter NaNoWriMo.

If you are not familiar with the concept, it is National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words between November 1st and November 30th.

I was able to complete my goal (read how I did it here). I did get to 50,000 words. But what I was not prepared for was how I would feel afterwards.

Writing is draining. I always imagine each word like a tiny smudge of yourself that you leave behind like a snail's slimy trail. The more words you write, the less of yourself there is.

After writing 50,000 extra words in November, I can definitely tell you that I feel like a drained snail. It has been extremely hard to continue working since I reached my goal just before Thanksgiving.

So, what have I done to keep motivated? Basically, three simple things.

3 Simple Ways to Keep Writing after Burn-Out

1. Set Goals: Goals are how you stay focused on what you want to achieve. If you don't have any solid goals, then there is no way you can make it past burnout. I like to plan daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals. 
2. Do the Bare Minimum: Normally, I try to do a little more than I have to do to get ahead. But when facing burnout, the minimum is enough for a while. Just make sure you start doing extra again after a small rest period to avoid life-long procrastination. 
3. Plan for Breaks: You will need a lot of off time to recover from burn out. I plan to take off at least a week in late December to make up for my burnout. I have also taken several small breaks each day. My kitchen has never been so clean. 

So, that's it! What do you do to keep going if you are feeling burned out by writing? 

Brenda is a fellow book-lover and coffee-addict. She is a freelance writer, punctuation nerd, and grammar enthusiast. Her favorite book genres are Science Fiction, Fantasy with a Twist, and Dystopian. Brenda blogs about books, writing and more at Daily Mayo. Find her here on CaW for Writing Tips Wednesdays the first Wednesday of every month.

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