“Ugh,” you’re saying. “This is supposed to be fun. But now, after a few months, writing is starting to feel like … like work!” Creative endeavors, whether they be painting, sculpting, movies or yes, writing have a level of stress about them. I’m experiencing them, and maybe you are, too. That’s why I wanted to pass along some ideas on five ways to manage author stress. After all, we’re going to be doing this for a long time. Here’s the low-down on how to avoid burn out:
1. Plan your work, and work your plan – the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So does your writing project. Break down the work into discrete chunks, and celebrate milestones, big and small!
2. Clean Your Room – there’s something intrinsically healing about self-care (see #4). Organize your desk, organize your online story files, or return that email. Clear the clutter of your room to clear the clutter of your mind.
3. Talk it out – Nothing beats a sounding board. Find an online group, find a person in a library, find a therapist. Talk about your feelings. A recent study shows that, more than information or solutions, people want emotional support when they have a problem.
4. Take Care of You – Over and over again, experts from Stephen R. Covey to Susan Rinkunas say ‘Sharpen the Saw‘ or ‘Take care of you.’ You aren’t a machine, and even if you are, even machines need to shut down for patch updates. Take a break, get some exercise, eat right, and sleep. Take care of you.
5. Remember: This is supposed to be fun. You got into this because you wanted to do what you love for a living. Don’t forget to love it! Not loving it is your body’s way of saying “I’m not into this – I should try something else.” Take a break from that novel. Take a step back from that social media campaign. Refresh, renew, and recharge. Find the joy by doing something else for a while. Come back when you feel like you’re ready.
To wrap up, you write to live, you don’t live to write. Don’t expect more of yourself than is reasonable of any other human being. You aren’t perfect, you deserve to rest and enjoy life, too. If George R R Martin can let his public wait for a new GoT novel, then quit stressing about your deadlines. None of us are getting out of this alive, so let’s enjoy the ride as long as we can.
Special thanks to the following resources on stress, especially author-specific stress:
- https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/overcome-writers-stress.html
- https://www.theadventurouswriter.com/blogwriting/8-stress-management-tips-for-writers/
- https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2018/05/11/healthy-writer-tips-managing-stress-anxiety-and-burnout/
- https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19930858/stress-management-0/
- https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-handle-stress-in-the-moment
Who are you to be giving this advice?
I know I’m a weird little person living inside a carefully-constructed universe that revolves around my illness. I’ve accepted that already. Despite my disabilities, I’m still trying to push my life forward and this article is one example of that effort. Thanks for being awesome.