When writing burns you out

In a world where so many are wearing an “I’ve got everything together” mask, I’ve been increasingly convicted about the importance of being authentic.

And so today I’m going to very “real” and admit that I’m totally burnt out this week.

I had an extremely tight deadline to meet for the edits of my upcoming novel. I met it. And I burned myself out doing it.

So unfortunately, I don’t have anything particularly inspiring to share with you this week.

But I can at least tell you some of the things that are helping me navigate through this patch of exhaustion and get back on track.

1. Focusing on thankfulness: When you’re burnt out, it’s easy to feel like everything is going wrong. Stop, and refocus on who God is and what He has done and is continuing to do.

2. Making lists: The unfortunate thing about life is that it doesn’t stop and wait for you just because you’re exhausted. I still have classes to run, private students to teach, orders to fulfil, emails to reply to etc. etc. Writing down all my tasks and identifying “urgent” tasks that can actually wait for a few days really helps to clear my over-strained brain.

3. Avoiding social media: I admit I’m not exactly crushing this one (the more tired I am, the easier it is for me to doom scroll), but extra, unnecessary information does not help a burnt-out mind at all!

4. Carving out time to just stop or to do something different: For me, taking a few days off just isn’t an option at the moment. But I have rearranged a few of my tasks so that I can focus on my more “relaxing” work for a few days and give my brain time to reset.

Final tip: Whatever you do, don’t neglect to spend time in praying and reading the Bible. You can’t expect to restore your brain and body if you’re starving your soul!

If you’re facing burnout, I hope these thoughts have been helpful for you!

Lord willing, I’ll be back in two weeks with a less worn-out brain!

Keep writing! (But don’t be afraid to take a break.) :)

I am an author (surprise!)

I write page-turning historical fiction for teens. My books are family friendly and don’t contain graphic violence or romantic scenes.

You can find out more about my books here.

I’m always keen to connect with other authors who write clean fiction for teens/middle grade. If that’s you, please feel free to reach out! :)