Bring Back that Lovin’ Feeling
By Guest | February 8, 2011 |
Therese here. Please welcome guest Kristen Lamb to Writer Unboxed. Kristen is the author of the best-selling book, “We Are Not alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media,” which hit #4 on Amazon last week in Computers & Technology. Kristen has guided writers of all levels, from unpublished green peas to NY Times best-selling big fish, on how to use social media to create a solid platform and brand. She’s here with us today to discuss something even more fundamental than platform: having a driving energy to write, and how you can revitalize yourself when that energy flags. Enjoy!
Bring Back that Lovin’ Feeling–What to Do When You Feel Burned Out
We are officially in the second month of 2011, and it’s usually right about now that the shiny has worn off the new year. Perhaps this was the year you vowed to take that novel more seriously, and you set out with bold promises of daily word count.
The first week of January, you were off like a shot. The creativity was flowing, and you couldn’t remember a time you felt so alive. You might have even wondered why you put this off so long? Fingers flying across the keyboard, you laughed in the face of all your naysayers.
Now? Four weeks in?
You’ve lost that loving feeling! Whoa, that loooving feeling. Bring back that looooving feeling cuz it’s gone, gone, gone….whooooaaahh.
Okay, I promise not to sing anymore.
Maybe you are heading into February, and, what was so exciting and fun a month ago, now feels more like slogging through a rice paddy wearing ankle weights and snow shoes. I feel your pain. So when you hit that mental wall, what can you do to push past and find that same kind of energy? Here are some tips to help.
1. Recognize that stalling is normal.
When we start off with a new sparkly idea, it is like a first date that goes really well. We spend every spare second dreaming of our next time together, and every moment apart is torture. But, like the dating world, the one month point with our new project marks a transition in our relationship. This is the point we often ask, Can I commit for the long haul? ‘Til “published” do we part?
Be encouraged. Just because we don’t get giddy every time we think of our work in progress in no way means that something is wrong. It just means we have an opportunity to dig in and go deeper. This is no longer a fling, a wild fleeting affair. It’s a commitment. That’s a good thing.
2. Revisit the plan.
There is a saying we used all the time when I was in sales. Fail to plan and plan to fail. Many writers (I’ve been guilty) just take off writing without any prior preparation. It is usually about the 30,000 word mark that this initial failure to plot starts becoming clear. We stare at our screen and realize our story is so complicated the reader is going to need a GPS and a team of sherpas to navigate our plot.
What went wrong?
Maybe we should have spent a tad more time plotting. We have a choice. Keep writing, or stop and make a plan. Often, if we will just go back to the original idea and construct even a basic outline, we can easily see where we got off track. Think of it like taking a wrong turn on a road trip. We can keep driving and hope to stumble across a familiar interstate, but the better idea might be to drag out that AAA map we ignored in the beginning because we wanted to be “spontaneous.”
Frequently, when we hit a mental wall in our writing, it is because our subconscious is shouting, “You took a wrong turn!” If we will listen and retrace our steps, we will be cooking down the Inspiration Interstate in no time.
3. Revisit our goals.
At the beginning of every new year, a condition called RDD sweeps the globe, and writers are particularly vulnerable. What is RDD? Reality Deficit Disorder. I don’t know if it’s the champagne or peer pressure that makes us believe we can lose thirty pounds, build our own California Closet out of spare Popsicle sticks, and win the Pulitzer by summer.
Let’s be honest. New Year’s Day makes us crazy.
We seem to lose all grasp on reality and forget that we do have a life. We have spouses, children, pets, day jobs and needy houseplants that all need our attention, too. These things don’t just go away because we decided to write a book.
If you are starting to feel burned out, then it might be a good time to revisit your original goals and grant some grace for temporary insanity. Maybe you need longer than 8 weeks to write your opus magnus.
Just because we move a personal deadline does not mean we have failed. Sometimes our creativity will lock up simply because it is caught like a deer in the headlights. Give your muse some breathing room, and she might just spark back to life.
4. Focus on love.
One great way to rest and recharge our creativity is to read. Remind yourself why you love to write. Get away from your own work and out of your own head for awhile. Read the kind of stuff that inspired you to want to write that novel in the first place. This is a good way to recoup, but still be “working.” Often, by “plugging in” to the creativity of others, we can recharge and be ready to write in no time.
In the end, know that writing a book is more like a marathon. We have to train, prepare, and then pace ourselves, or we will end up curled in the fetal position on the side of the road waiting on the rescue van. It’s normal to make mistakes and have setbacks and feel less than thrilled about our decision to become a writer. What is important is to remember that all of the doldrums and depression is temporary, but the thrill of publication is forever.
What are some ways you use to bust past the writing doldrums? What do you think causes your creativity to “lock up?” What tactics do you use to get unstuck?
Thanks for a great post, Kristen! Readers, you can learn more about Kristen on her website and blog, and you can follow her on Twitter. Write on!
Photo courtesy Flickr’s David Masters
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
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What a wonderfully written article and so true! I have a huge fear of fear itself and it always seems to cause procrastination and the feeling of failure. These are really great tips to help push forward and ignore the rest of it! Thanks for sharing :)
Mark Twain just waited out the doldrums. “When the tank runs dry you’ve only to leave it alone and it will fill up again in time.” When Charles Dickens was in the doldrums, he’d go for long walks. Plotting A Christmas Carol, Dickens walked “about the black streets of London, fifteen and twenty miles, many a night when all the sober folks had gone to bed,” Dickens wrote to his friend Cornelius Felton at Harvard.
I love the analogy that you and your wip are like any personal relationship–have a fling and cut ties, or dig in for the long haul.
My experience is that I can bring back that lovin’ feelin’ by sleeping and driving (not at the same time). Often just a little quiet time *without* the blank computer screen mocking me is all I need to start hearing the voices in my head again. Then when I wake up (or get where I’m going)I can scribble out 500 words with good old fashioned paper and pen. It’s the perfect shot in the arm.
(I’ll be picking up your book, btw. Sounds like it’s right up my alley.)
I used to avoid outlines, but they’ve really helped me through my last couple of novels. Beginning’s fairly easy, but when I have a middle and end, I feel more confident that the story has a point :-).
“Frequently, when we hit a mental wall in our writing, it is because our subconscious is shouting, “You took a wrong turn!” If we will listen and retrace our steps, we will be cooking down the Inspiration Interstate in no time.”
Yes, I definitely find this to be true. For me, the best thing to do to *avoid* the doldrums is to outline a story (I don’t do every scene, but the major turning points) and trust my instincts. It took me 3+ years of really trying to get comfortable with those two things, but nowadays I very rarely hit a block. Then when I do, I just read, and that inspires me / gets my wheels turning again.
Perspective changes after a few weeks pass!
I find it helpful to step back, take a fresh look at things.
Patricia
PM_Poet Writer
Someone has ESP because this is exactly how I’ve been feeling. I haven’t touched my novel since the beginning of January. I miss it. I’ve lost that loving feeling and my books begging, “baby, come back!”
And I shall oblige. Thanks!
A perfectly timed post for me, Kristen. I just hit a wall last week, pretty much just as you describe. I decided to chuck a large of writing just yesterday. I have to step back for a course correction, but I feel good about it today.
I will be following your advice this week. I love the idea of both ‘giving the muse some breathing room,’ and ‘focusing on love.’ Thanks!
Good post. When I hit a wall, I find spending time with my positive writer friends really helps. I also liked your second point… but then, I’m a compulsive plotter! And I’ve realized that when I can’t move forward, something went awry about three scenes back. :)
So many great comments, and some great suggestions, too. all of us hit this wall and it just helps to realize that we are not alone with this problem. It just goes with the territory of being in a creative field.
Thanks for such wonderful feedback!
Best thing for me when I’m stalled is to have a complete break. When I’m ready to go back I’m refreshed and my writing is better. It’s been a hard lesson, though, to teach myself not to panic when that break goes on longer than I expected!
Judy (South Africa)
OMG, but I LOVE this post! It has my name written all over it and was just the kick-in-the-keyboard I’ve needed. The most obvious proof of which being that I’m normally working on my WIP at this time of day, and not online reading blog posts. (Although, really, this one is quite perfect. Medicinal really.) Thank you, thank you, Kristen for a perfect reminder that “this too shall pass” as long as we hang in there and persist in pushing the words around on the page.
Yeah, I’m stuck and it’s because I’m missing something in my plot. I usually walk to break through, but I’ve been down with a cold. I just recently discovered that if I look at pictures (not words) I can bypass whatever internal editor or gatekeeper is there and think more creatively.
I read my first two novels (since they are linked and this one is the final in the trilogy) and even forced myself to jot a few notes on things I should remember while writing this one. But beyond that, it brought my character to me again. I think with Sweetie published in between the 2nd and 3rd books I thought I’d lost VK’s voice or something. Or maybe I was fatigued from all the swirling stuff since being pub’d, or putting pressures on myself – who knows, but, this I know:
Sometimes, no matter how much you love this or how easily the words have always come, there will come a time when you are Tired, and if you wait for inspiration or the “want” to write, you may find they aren’t going to get you off your arse to write. Then you have to treat yourself like a Naughty Child and tell her, “Get in your room right now, Young Lady (or Middle Aged Lady in my case :-D ) and Write! This minute! or no dessert for a month! You hear me?”
And when the naughty child argues, you Point – give the hard stare of “I mean it” and that’s that – I stomp into the room grumbling and once I’m in the manuscript again, things will begin to click and if they don’t, I push through it – because eventually, I’ll find what I’m looking for.
I’m with Barbara n this one – nothing like a timely kick in the pants when I need one… I’ve been stalled in the same spot for a while. I’ve revised work before it, all around it and ten ways up and down to breakfast, but get past it? Nope. I’m sure that’s because I killed off a major character and then I kept having, ‘well what now?’ moments about the plot. Maybe I should step back, re-plot and rethink. Thanks for the prompt.
Your #4 is a biggie. Movies and music also inspire me. Finally, physical exertion (especially yoga) gets the words going.
Great post!
I love that you say in February the shiny has worn off the new year. Perfectly said. And usually it also has to do with the sun being hidden most of the days in February. It’s a perfect time to write, but the inspiration flags. Yes, plot and structure help with getting the writing done. My favorite book to use for that is J.S. Bell’s PLOT AND STRUCTURE. Like Erika says above, exercise helps tremendously, too. And when I’m most stuck, I pull out Stephen Pressfield’s great book, THE WAR OF ART. The last page gets me back into gear every time. Thanks for the great post! -Jennifer King
Very well written post and such a good message for February when the dusts settles on the New Years Resolutions.
Kristen is spot on, as usual. This is also the time of year when the gym gets empty again. There is a reason that February is one of the most depressing months of the year for many. Not for us!
I used the “have to read the new ARC for errors” to pull me away from my WIP. Then the “have to revise proposal for my agent” excuse. Well, both those are done, and I have to figure out why I’m not excited to finish the last chapter(s) of the WIP. Thanks for this post.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
[…] Also, I hope you guys check out my guest post at Writer Unboxed. Bring Back that Lovin’ Feeling–What to Do When You Feel Burned Out. […]
I took a break from mine. I’m reading “The Wind is My Mother” at the moment. Different, and relaxing…I still am formulating what to do and where to go next, but for now I am going to chill! Literally. I’m stuck due to bad weather too! Kristen I love your stuff! You are always on point and easy to follow! Thank you! Watching movies and such helps too!
Kristen,
Your entire post here is great, but I especially want to say thanks for this:
Just because we move a personal deadline does not mean we have failed.
It’s taking me longer than I had hoped to get through this next draft of my WIP, but I know the work I’m doing is much better than the last draft. So, I needed that little reminder that deadlines should sometimes be flexible.
This is the second time today I’ve read about a link between writer’s block/stalling and taking a wrong turn in your book. That explains all those time I wrote myself into a corner and didn’t return to my novel for months. (There are a couple I have yet to return to.) Gives me a new perspective. Thanks! Great post.
[…] Also, I hope you guys check out my guest post at Writer Unboxed. Bring Back that Lovin’ Feeling–What to Do When You Feel Burned Out. […]
Thanks for all the wonderful comments and suggestions. It is so comforting to realize that we are not the only ones who hit a wall. I always find so much inspiration just by being around the rest of you, and that fuels me to get back at it. You guys are awesome! :D