Where Normal Need Not Apply
Most writers struggle with writing burnout at some point. For me, health issues have drained my energy and caused oodles of frustration, neither of which is good for my creative side—which leads to writing frustration. Chronic issues often lead to major, long-term burnout. What can we do?
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If we know other writers at all, chances are good that we’ve heard a lot of advice. One of the most common pieces of advice? According to dozens of multi-published, bestselling authors, it’s “write every day.” Do they know better than us what it takes to be a writer? Is that a must-listen rule?
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Due to my health issues over the past 14 months, I’ve missed a lot of self-imposed deadlines, and it’d be easy to get frustrated. But it’s important to remember that slow progress is not a failure. Slow progress is still better than nothing.
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We can’t do it all, and as Jenny Hansen mentioned recently, that includes limiting our social media platforms. It’s so easy in this business to overdo things, and that includes our branding efforts. Let’s take a look at how to find (and keep) the right balance for the sake of our sanity.
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A story’s stakes are one element that keeps readers turning pages because they want to see if our characters succeed. At first glance, we might think bigger stakes are better for sucking in readers, but not every story lends themselves to huge stakes. Are “quieter” stories doomed to fail the “page-turner” test?
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Our characters have to overcome many obstacles throughout our plot, but changing the obstacles doesn’t always fix story problems. Sure, sometimes an obstacle doesn’t fit the story, but too often, the obstacle itself isn’t what’s broken—it’s the storytelling around the obstacle.
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As writers, we face deadlines and commitments every time we turn around. So we’re likely to be familiar with the pressure of deadlines and the expectation of meeting our commitments. But what happens when we can’t meet them? How bad is it for us and our reputation?
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Life happens. No matter our intentions or plans or dedication, things will go wrong, slip from the schedule, or get missed. This doesn’t make us bad or a failure. It makes us human.
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A writer’s life can quickly shift from leisure time to impossible deadlines, which can interfere with our healthy habits. To maintain our health, we should occasionally analyze our self-care habits and routines—especially when we have time between the chaos.
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Some sales pitches play on our fears, and others play on our self-doubt. These sales messages are usually worded like, “If We’re Serious about Writing, We’ll…” Unfortunately, messages like this aren’t limited to sales pitches.
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