It is the demonic shadow of the dreaded phenomena that plagues all of us word-smitten creative types. I'm talking about writer's block and it's nagging companion, fatigue. Fatigue is a lot like writer's block, and if it's left unmanaged may create the perfect door for writer's block to step right through. Just like a holy man preparing himself for epic combat with malevolent spirits, we as courageous writers must take precautions to keep the demon at bay. By the way, I'm totally thinking of John Constantine while I write this. Gimme some Enochian symbols and I'll brand them (not really) on my forearms (back satan!).
So, what is writer's fatigue? Basically, it's the same thing as burnout. You've invested so much time and energy in writing this project. Your heart and soul have been ground up and mashed into the essence of every laboriously chosen word. But you've given too much too quick. Next thing you know, you're not so excited about getting up early in the morning and sitting at that desk. You try because hey, you know it's not going to be fun all the time. You've even read elsewhere that it's going to fill a lot like work. But beware! Sometimes the right thing might be to brutally master your mind and body, push right through and get that word count in. And maybe not. "Why maybe not?" you ask. Another great question. Jeez, you guys are really on point. Maybe, just maybe you'll start to produce less than that high quality work that you know you're capable of. Perhaps you inner eye begins to haze, and suddenly the clarity of direction is muddied by the work of it all. Does that sound about right? If so, you're in the choppy waters of writer's fatigue. Beware! There, just beyond the dark clouds is a place of emptiness (the "nothing" from The Never Ending Story has been there), lukewarm waters and (whispered in echoes) writer's block. God forbid you get to that place. You've gotta go through hell to get back where you want to be. And you want those words to flow like milk and honey.
The Cure
Ah, but in my vast amounts of timeless wisdom, gathered and harnessed by the incredible rabbi called "experience", I have learned of a remedy. Not like the pricey snake oil stuff that Crazy Eddie sales with ol' One Eye's moonshine (what a name for a moonshiner, right?), but the real deal. So here we go. I think this next bit of wisdom is so epic it deserves it's own line.
The cure to writer's fatigue is to write more stuff ... just different ... stuff.
Yup, that's it. The trick is to write something other than the large project you're working on. Take a break from that novel, but not too long. You still want to make progress on that thing, so I wouldn't suggest abandoning it for more than a day (if that). I chose to do a blog which was similarly related to my novel (subterfuge!), and to help edit fellow writers and their monstrous projects.
I had a professor in college that gave me a bit of advice when it came to studying and writing theological papers. He told me that your brain needs a break from doing the same thing over and over again, and it helps for the old noggin to reboot if it's located in a different space.
This means that it is good for you head to change gears for a while, and sometimes you need to get up and get out of your local writing haunt to help it out. Let me simplify:
Change your mental location, and you physical location.
Keep writing everyday. Write something, they say (I don't know who they are, but they say a lot of things). Keep your craft like you would keep a hunting knife; sharp and prepared for the work at hand. Once you've done a little work on another project, perhaps one less meaningful, you need to refocus on your first love. You'll be surprised at how rejuvenated you feel. It's like getting a breath of fresh air after being stuck inside a smouldering, ventless attic for hours. Try it out the next time you feel a little less enthusiastic about your novel (don't go to a stuffy attic, though. You could die. I don't want this blog to be the reason for death).
How about you? Have you had a time when you feel like you're just too burnt out to write anything good? How did you fix it (did you fix it)? Do you have any secret chunks of wisdom for us to learn from? Let us know in the comments below.
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