Why Writers Need a Break From Creativity

Hello, my lovelies!

Today it’s story time:

The Story of How I Wrote So Many Words:

Once upon a time I used to fill every waking moment with my stories. Even when I was reading other people’s I used to think about their stories in terms of my own- how did mine compare? What did they do that I liked? How could I avoid doing the things I hated? How could I imitate the things they did that worked? What did they do that I didn’t like?

A lot of people questioned this and asked me if this was healthy- did I ever take time to rest, to relax, to just be? Did everything have to be related to a story?

Of course, I ignored them. I was a professional, after all, and they simply didn’t understand my devotion to my craft. They didn’t understand that dedication and hard work are what it takes to make it in this world.

Looking back now, I wish I had listened to those people. Oh, how dearly I wished I had listened instead of thinking I knew it all.

Fast forward to last November (November 2016). I hadn’t written anything substantial in over a year and as NaNoWriMo was fast approaching I starting to consider participating. Maybe this was the creative boost I needed to get me writing again.

It turns out it was what I needed and not only did I complete my 50,000 words in November, but between November of that year and May of this I wrote close to a quarter of a million words.

Let that sink in a moment.

I was on cloud nine with joy over how much I was writing and unable to believe I was being creative again.

The Burn Out:

In the midst of all that happiness and creativity I started to see something was off- I was running the risk of falling into the pits of creative dryness again and I realized I was burning out.

In November, December, and into January I was writing 1,500 or 2,000 words every day. But by the end of January and into February it started to get harder for me to write. It was like pulling teeth forcing myself to sit down and do it and there were stretches where I didn’t write for days. Then I’d sit down to write and look at how far behind I was on my word goal and I’d cringe as I forced myself to push to catch up to that goal.

I was burning out. And I was doing it fast and hard. There was no way I was going to be able to keep up with this creative streak. I knew what was coming.

I was going back to the creative wasteland I had fought so hard to free myself from months before.

The Solution:

As I finished the project I was working on and started to move onto another, I remembered the counsel I’d been given all those years ago.

Was I a workaholic when it came to stories? Was that what was running me into the ground and forcing me into those dry periods of creative nothingness?

I started to think about it and mostly out of fear I made a decision- if I really was a workaholic, I’d set one day aside each week and refuse to let myself write those days. No writing, no outlining, no character sketches, no making story Pinterest boards or playlists, or anything else related to my writing. It would be my day of rest.

I chose Sundays because that was the best day for me. Sundays in our house are restful anyway, with time seeming slower and lazier, even when we have plans. So Sundays it was- both my spiritual Sabbath and my creative day of rest.

The Results:

It was that first Sunday that I took off when the reality set in- I am a workaholic. I’ve kept this in practice for almost nine months now but I still find it challenging to take a pause from my stories, to disconnect from fiction and just breathe.

But I’ve also been writing consistently in those seven months and feel more grounded and less on the verge of falling apart all the time. I’m not scared of burning out or drying up creatively and I feel more in touch with my stories when I come back to them fresh the next week.

So Why a Day of Rest?

God commands a day of rest each week, to focus on him and recharge from the week before. Creatively, it’s always good to take a step back and breathe for a moment, to come back to things with a fresh perspective sometime later.

And I’ve found it’s especially helpful that my creative day of rest coincides with my spiritual one. I have nothing distracting me from the Sunday sermon (my stories used to do that all the time) and those lazy Sunday afternoons now have plenty of time for contemplating God when I used to fill them with stories and characters.

Your own day doesn’t have to be Sunday but whatever day you choose you need to make sure you’re committed to it so that you truly get the chance to recharge and hit the reset button on your creativity. If you’re going to do this you need to be committed.

But How Do I Rest?

This was the hardest part for me- it wasn’t until I started doing this that I realized how much of my life revolves around stories. I actually had to ask people how on earth to do this because apparently I don’t know how to relax…

Somethings that have been suggested to me or thing I’ve found work are:

-Go for a walk

-Read a book for fun or something unusual for you

-Find a show you can get lost in (for me this is usually Food Network)

-Lay in bed and listen to an e-book

-Sit outside and breathe

-Make plans with friends that don’t include writing or talking about stories

-Find somewhere to explore

-See what other people are doing and tag along if possible (if my mom goes to the grocery store on Sundays I usually go too now)

-Take up a hobby that you find joy in

-Clean your room

-Organize something (if you’re like me and you find that energizing)

-Do something you’re always meaning to do but never seem to have the time for

-Bake

-Respond to all those messages from friends that you never get to (if you’re like me and are really bad at messaging people)

-Listen to music

-Find things that bring you joy and energy and throw yourself into them

Conclusion:

We live in a fast-paced world and it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy. Having time set aside specifically to breathe and recenter ourselves makes it harder for us to put it off. Like everything else in this life, if it’s a priority to us we’ll make it happen no matter how crazy our lives are.

You also don’t need to get legalistic about this- I’m writing this post on a Sunday because I knew what my weekend looked like and decided to take Saturday off instead. I still keep Sundays set aside as my day off but sometimes Saturday comes and I know I need to take my break a day early. It’s all about knowing yourself and what you need.

This is about you- it’s about resting and breathing and resetting the creativity button. It’s about taking a step back so that you don’t run the risk of burning out. It’s about learning to relax in a world that’s always on the go.

I hope to see you on Friday for another review. Until the next time we meet, don’t forget to live happily ever after <3

~Jennifer Sauer, the Ivory Palace Princess

P.S. Let’s Chat! What are your favorite ways to relax? How do you keep from burning out creatively?