Balancing work and taking time off is essential to prevent burnout and maintain mental and physical well-being as an author.
Trusting your writing intuition and embracing the creative process can help you find your unique voice as a writer and produce your best work.
Setting clear boundaries, treating writing as a job, and avoiding distractions and procrastination are key to writing faster and more efficiently.
Deep dives
Overcoming Burnout and Finding Balance
The author shares her personal experience with burnout and how it led to a serious health crisis. She explains the importance of balancing work and taking time off to maintain mental and physical well-being. By tracking word counts and recognizing the need for breaks, she has learned to prevent burnout and prioritize self-care.
Trusting Intuition and Discovering Voice
The author discusses the value of trusting your writing intuition and finding your unique voice as a writer. She shares her own experience of writing out of order and allowing the story to unfold naturally, even if it means deviating from the original outline. By embracing the process and staying open to new ideas, authors can tap into their creativity and produce their best work.
The Importance of Taking Days Off
Recognizing the dangers of overworking, the author emphasizes the need for scheduled time off. She shares her strategy of forcing herself to take days off, even when she feels the pressure to work. Engaging in activities outside of writing, such as attending hockey games or pursuing painting, provides a much-needed break and helps maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Tips for Writing Faster and Setting Boundaries
One of the key ways to write faster is to set clear boundaries and dedicate specific time and space for writing. Communicating these boundaries to your partner or loved ones is crucial in order to protect your writing time. Treat your writing time as a job and prioritize it by not allowing distractions or constant rescheduling. This applies not only to others but also to yourself. Avoid giving in to procrastination and prioritize writing even when other activities seem more appealing.
The Benefits of Using Brackets and Placeholders
Using brackets and placeholders can help in the drafting phase of writing. For example, when writing a scene with multiple characters, you can use brackets to represent their names and fill them in later to avoid breaking your writing flow. Placeholders are also useful when describing character features, unfamiliar words, or details that require research. By utilizing brackets and placeholders, you can maintain momentum in your writing process and save time by not getting stuck on minor details during the initial draft.
How can you establish a creative routine that enables you to write the books you want to write without burning out? How can you balance a sustainable work ethic as an author as well as spending time away from the desk. LA Witt talks about her strategies. In the intro, Spotify introduces 15 hours of […]