Burn out.

whatswrongwithme22

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Nov 3, 2023
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How do you guys deal with burnout? And how do you get the drive to get back to writing??
I swear I could write 2k words a day for a month then once I take a break for a couple of days, it just never stops, Like I'm tired of writing or something.
How do you get back from that?
 

PancakesWitch

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do a weird thing in your novel you never thought you would do that doesnt fit the narrative or the tone at all, then it will suddenly get interesting again :))
 

SyncSteam

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Take a break. Burnout is serious, and can have long term effects toward your enjoyment of stories in general. Take a break and don't let anyone stop you, burnout isn't just a mental thing, its a physical reaction from your nervous system. Its important to take a break, relax, and stop thinking about your story for a bit if its causing burnout.
If you really don't want to stop writing, compromise and write something else that you enjoy. Or take a scheduled hiatus, and set a clear update schedule. that way your reader know when you will be back and what to expect in the future. For the update schedule, i would make it be way below what you expect to write, that way you can have some chapters in reserve for when you don't feel like writing, and if you are in the mood to write a ton just release a bunch off schedule. People will never be unhappy about surprise bonus updates, and it allows you to be writing closer to where people are reading, so you can use the comments as inspiration if you want. But above all, pase yourself. Don't run your self into the ground trying to keep to an unsustainable schedule.
 

Paul__Michaels

Just a below average author.
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How do you guys deal with burnout? And how do you get the drive to get back to writing??
I swear I could write 2k words a day for a month then once I take a break for a couple of days, it just never stops, Like I'm tired of writing or something.
How do you get back from that?
I just write short stories on the side to give myself a breather and to break up the monotony.
My problem is I have 20 pilot chapters because of this practice and I can't focus on all of my other stories :blob_no::blob_pat_sad:
 

lambenttyto

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How do you guys deal with burnout? And how do you get the drive to get back to writing??
I swear I could write 2k words a day for a month then once I take a break for a couple of days, it just never stops, Like I'm tired of writing or something.
How do you get back from that?
I was doing 3k a day, or 12 pages, for six month stretches. My goal was a million words a year to write like a pulp writer. I succeeded, because my methods and the word turn out every day was manageable for me. Then I doubled it and did that for a month straight, got burned out and didn't write for six months after that. I would choose a word count that is manage for you, something you don't have to push too hard to achieve, or stress out about, and then make it a daily habit.
 
D

Deleted member 166076

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As someone with AuDHD I usually find starting harder than doing the actual work. I just lie to myself a lot and tell myself that I can just write a little and stop whenever I want. Then I just do it all anyways. Having a list of chapter names with a short list of topics to cover in the chapter also helps keep me on track so it is easier to get the work done. Setting manageable realistic goals is important, but sometimes you also have to take things minute by minute and not day by day or week by week. If I need a break, I'll go read or something for an hour and then get back to work. I'll feel relaxed and then it's easier to continue working. Meanwhile, if I looked at it as having to write a certain number of chapters for the week, I would have a hard time even getting started.
 

HungrySheep

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Honestly, just take your time. Whenever you feel like you've got absolutely nothing to do, remind yourself that you can write a paragraph or two. Words will flow.
 

expentio

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For me, it helps that I usually write on 3 or more stories at once. Whenever I get tired of one, don't know how to proceed now, or simply don't feel the genre at the moment, I can simply switch to what suits my current taste the most.
It's not about abandoning any of those, as once in a while you'll get fed up with this one too and then the old story will again look promising (a huge backlog helps with this). Also, one really shouldn't underestimate the possibility of an epiphanie. You may only think on the sidelines about your story and suddenly it makes "click" and you perfectly know what and how you have to write to proceed. At this point you can leave all to the flow.

Also, I'm usually writing on a tablet and then copy on PC. Having it always with me means I can write during every little break and males it less of a commitment I need to overcome to get started, while also avoiding longer periods between writing sessions.
 

RainyLiquid

Smug Honaki Star Rail Player
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I don't really have a solution for burn out and I don't really think there is one. People can say 'do this' or 'do that' but none ever really worked for me. I just power through and keep writing, even on days I don't want to or are tired. I set up specific days I write on and that helped me a lot.
 

PancakesWitch

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A simple answer but that really is the key to success haha

Thats actually pretty good!
then you can have fun trying to fit the weird or insane thing you added into the narrative and tone, expanding the world building in the process and creating new interesting characters, I often do this quite a lot, I like mixing genres and twisting tropes all the time, also making unexpected plot twists not even i expected I would write
 

Hans.Trondheim

Low energy is king!
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How do you guys deal with burnout? And how do you get the drive to get back to writing??
I swear I could write 2k words a day for a month then once I take a break for a couple of days, it just never stops, Like I'm tired of writing or something.
How do you get back from that?
Discipline is the only sure way.
I am doing an experiment right now. I made a schedule, so I will have to discipline myself, and others will be holding me accountable.
Basically this is what I do, though if the push comes to the shove I resort to extreme ways, such as completely isolating myself (or weaning off games, drawing, and other stuff I do to relax), like how I left Discord recently.

Payout is, well, check the number of books in my signature.
 

Nolff

An attractive male of unspecified gender.
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How do you guys deal with burnout? And how do you get the drive to get back to writing??
I swear I could write 2k words a day for a month then once I take a break for a couple of days, it just never stops, Like I'm tired of writing or something.
How do you get back from that?
Force yourself to write a little story, starting with 1k words. Give that story to someone close to you and see how they react. From there, expand your words bit by bit, till you get yourself back up.

It's a matter of behavior. Once you flawlessly do something, you'll successfully repeat the same thing.

Bicycling. You get it right once, you learned the basics. Do it a little longer, you'll be advanced at bicycling. Do it over a year, and it'll be a norm. If in any part of this process, you fail/crash into something, you either retry or stop bicycling.

Similar to shoplifting. You do it once and not get caught, you'll do it more often. Get caught once, and you might never do that again.

You just need something to break your cycle of burning out.
 

placeintime

Yeeting myself out
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Apr 13, 2020
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Try something new. Like change your keyboards or keycaps or something. Sometimes when you continue using the same things, it can dull you out. Doing something else for a bit or changing something up in how you write could help you get your groove.
 

CharlesEBrown

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Right now I use the method that, allegedly, both Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov used:
Write whenever you get think of something TO write. You can set aside time or just impulsively stop doing whatever you were doing to write for a bit then go back. Keep several projects ongoing so that if you get stuck on one, you can just jump to the other (at the moment I have a world-hopping fantasy story; a neo-noir-Cthulhu(ripoff)-quasisuperhero story*; a "Western System" story, a guy wakes up in the body of a superheroine story; a romance novel; an alien invader decides to be good guy story; an Ancient Egyptian monster unleashed and needs to be stopped by a superhero and two FBI agents story; and a semi-blatant-Martian Manhunter ripoff character story in the works; the one marked with the * is the one posted here, the rest I have yet to seek "homes" for - and that does not include the horror novel I hope I can still find and finish, as well as two or three ideas that are just a line or two with nothing really written down)
 
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