Avoiding burnout and boredom as a writer
This week is all about being a more productive writer! I started off with a brief post about a little known writing disorder called hypergraphia, then moved onto a more traditional post about being more prolific.
Today I’m going to continue with this theme, but in a slightly different way. Rather than talk about ways to make time for writing or writing more during each session (both great topics), I’m going to talk about avoiding burnout as a writer. Actually, there are two separate issues here: burnout and boredom. They’re very different, but still somewhat related in their causes and cures.
When writing becomes boring
Yes, even writers can get bored with writing. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or that you’ve used up all your creativity. When you think about writing on a very literal level, it is just marking down seemingly random symbols that have a very arbitrary relationship with anything in real life. There’s an entire theory that goes along with this very idea called deconstruction, something I’ve taken entire classes on and still have a hard time understanding.
Back to the topic, though. How does a writer get bored with writing? It’s different for everyone. But I’ll give my own experience. Several years ago I used to write only mystery stories. I found them fun to read and very challenging to write. But after a while I just got tired of the same old plot structures and themes involving crime, violence, finding clues and so forth. During my first semester at college I began to expand out to more literary fiction. And guess what? Writing became really exciting again! My head was suddenly overflowing with ideas.
If you have been writing in the same genre for a while, you might want to shake things up a bit and write in a totally different genre. Heck, if you’re writing fiction, then switch to poetry if you want even more of a change. Don’t let yourself get to the point of being bored. Explore new and different horizons. Mix things up by combining genres. That’s the fun part about fiction, the rules are only written in pencil, so you can erase them and change them to better suite your needs!
I recently began reading a lot of science fiction, which of course has spilled over into my writing. I’m now working on a short story in that same genre.
Don’t get burned by writer’s burnout!
My last few semesters at college were busy ones. Since I was an English Literature major, there was one thing I did a lot of besides reading – and that was writing essays. Much of the time, I’d be working on more than one essay for more than one class. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed writing essays, I found them fun and challenging. But I eventually got burned out by all those darned essays.
What’s the cure? Eventually I had to force myself to take breaks. This meant taking a Saturday or Sunday off from writing and just going out and enjoying life. If you’ve been working hard on that book, or trying to get that collection of short fiction finished, it might be a good idea to take a break. Get a fresh perspective on life.
Being a prolific writer doesn’t mean writing until you drop dead. It’s okay to give yourself a break and do something else for a while. Sometimes I like to put down my pen and pick up my guitar. And as much as I hate to admit it, watching television is another way I relax (although I’ve been trying to cut back on this, as I can’t afford to lose many more brain cells).
Keep writing fun
Us writers know something the rest of the world doesn’t: writing makes the world go ’round, and that writing really is fun! But it’s only as fun as we make it. If we turn writing into a chore, then it’ll be a chore. Pacing yourself (taking breaks) and variety seem to be key parts to keeping writing fun and interesting. Don’t fall into a rut with your routine or genre and you should be able to write well into your old age!
Related posts
- Bad writing contest: an award no writer wants
- Tips on becoming a more prolific writer
- John Updike: A man of contradictions, and a very prolific writer
- How to deal with criticism as a writer
- Are you afraid of being a writer?
Read More: Writing, Writing Tips
