Creative burnout is something that all creative people struggle with in their lives. Since we have turned from 2022 to 2023 and because January is International Creativity Month , there are many of us setting writing goals for ourselves (I am one of them). From participating in accelerated writing goals in the past, I am well acquainted with writer burnout. The most important thing about setting goals for yourself is to know what your limits are.
How to Find Creative Balance
If you are someone who is just beginning your writing journey, it may be difficult to know when you've reached that point of no return. Finding a balance between being creative and reaching a point where you no longer want to pick up a pencil again is something that all creatives have to work on. Luckily for you, this age-old struggle has yielded some amazing tips to help you understand what your balance is and how to find it.
Write It Out
Unfortunately, the only surefire way to know where your limit is is to write. When your reach that point where you're getting frustrated or can't seem to get the next sentence right, it's time to stop. That is your daily writing limit but to know your overall writing limit. Your total writing limit is a much different thing that can be deduced once you have your daily writing limit.
Understanding Your Daily Limit in Terms of Chunks
Everyone has a different amount that they can write in a day based on a few different factors. If your full-time job is also writing, you may find it difficult to be creative when you get off work. My brain is weird and can easily separate work writing and my creative endeavors, so I usually have the capacity to write in my work in progress even if I spent the whole day writing for work. If you aren't that person, the weekends may be the only time you have to write.
Author Allie Plleiter dedicated a large portion of her life to creating a way to understand your writing limits that she calls "The Chunky Method". Essentially, you're either a big chunk or a small chunk writer. If you like to sit down and pound out a chapter or two before you call it quits, you're a big-chunk writer who can likely sit down and blast out thousands or tens of thousands of words at a time. If you sit down and get one or two good paragraphs out, you're probably a small-chunk writer who only uses a hundred or lower one thousand words at a time.
There is no right or wrong method. The point of discovering your chunk helps you understand the frequency at which you should write and helps you develop a schedule to keep those creative juices flowing consistently.
How Often Should I Write?
If you tend to be a bigger chunk writer, you may find out that you can't write every single day like some of your friends can. Don't stress, you are getting large chunks of writing out in each session, so you are more likely to experience creative burnout with an increased frequency of writing.
If you tend to be a smaller chunk writer, you may find that you can slap a few words onto the page every day or close to every day. It may only take you an hour or two per writing session, unlike your writing buddy who writes for five hours. Again, don't stress, you write smaller amounts of words, so short sessions multiple times a week will catch their long sessions only a few days a week.
The TL;DR answer is as much as you can. As a big-chunk writer, don't force yourself to sit in front of your computer every night if you can't find the right words. As a small-chunk writer, don't try to write for six hours on the weekend if you're creatively tapped after one. This is just a guide to help you understand your writing style.
Create a Schedule that Works for You
Now that you know how what your daily word limit looks like, it's time to start developing a weekly word limit to create a schedule to meet your deadlines. Every writer is different, so each writer's schedule will look a little different. If you're someone who isn't big on hard schedules (like actually writing things down and planning out time) like I am, you should still know about how many times you should be writing a week.
If you're a big-chunk writer, start by writing two to three times a week and see how you feel. The important thing to note here is that it does take a while to create a routine (most experts say around five weeks), so give your trial period more than a week to find out how you feel. If you continually feel ready to write the next week, try adding another day if you want. If it's still too overwhelming, bump it down until you're comfortable.
If you're a small-chunk writer, start by writing five to six days a week if you can. Again, it takes about five weeks to make a routine of something, so wait a couple of weeks before you decide what is right for you. If that feels good, you can write every day or multiple times per day to see how that feels. If that's still too much for you, cut back a few days or the length of your session.
Wrap-Up/TL;DR Steps
Find your daily word limit by writing.
Decide if you are a big-chunk or small-chunk writer.
Figure out your weekly writing limit (typically fewer days for big-chunk writers and more for small-chunk writers).
Develop a realistic schedule that works within your writing limits and other activities.
Additional Creative Tips
Write on the same day in the same spot as much as possible to boost creativity
Have an area with limited distractions to make your writing time productive time
Take creative breaks if you plan on writing for long periods of time
Don't force yourself to do more than you are capable of
Provide yourself with brain food (or snacks) and plenty of water for your writing session
If you feel burnt out, take a break from writing but still be creative
Consume media (books, movies, TV shows, etc.) or exercise to help get the creative juices flowing again
Rest your manuscript for a week or two before trying to revise it right away
I hope all these tips from my own writing experience as well as people who know more than I do help you from feeling burnt out as you work toward whatever writing goal you set for yourself this year. If you are interested in following my goals for 2023, I will keep you posted on my social media
Until Next Time,
Ally Mac
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