When It’s Time to Press Wait

Photo Credit

Are you currently in a period of waiting? A time to lay aside the story telling for something else, for a time of rejuvenation and to spend more time with God figuring things out?

That’s where I’m at right now. To be completely and 100% brutally honest I haven’t written—not really written since summer of 2013. I dabbled with it a little bit until October when I decided that I just needed to put it aside.

I really didn’t tell many people about this when I did. How do you explain burnout? The inner fire doused as though buried under a flood of doubt? How do you respond to the questions of “how is your book coming” and “you’re bound to be the next one” (published or agented, etc.)? Most of the time I just keep my mouth shut because to say I’m not writing is to throw cold water on their warm encouragement—encouragement I am usually in very sore need of.

So how does one know it is time to press back space on the publishing chase? And how do you respond to the comments or the silent stares you get in the chattering circles of writer friends?

Burnout is never something we want or seek to acknowledge. It isn’t a badge of honor and is more often than not embarrassing around all our friends that always have something to write and love to work on their stories when all we want to do is burn ours.

Photo Credit

But every writer knows to some level what we’re going through and finding those that will stand beside you in support are the ones that we should turn to first and foremost when we feel the threat of burnout coming on or when we’re already long past the turning point.

I wouldn’t suggest posting it on Facebook or Twitter for the world to see, but I would advise turning to wise counsel you trust to sit down and pray with you and for you.   We all want to return to our novel writing at some point. When that comes around looks different for everyone, but continue to foster those relationships within and amongst your publishing friends. Spend time in good books and write a blog post or two. Don’t become hateful of words for words did not cause your lack luster. It’s merely the lack of excitement we’ve fail to breed within ourselves and surrounding our stories that has done us in.

Spending time in burnout is not ideal, no. It’s far from pleasurable and downright awkward to share with your peers. But good will come of this, of that I have no doubt. Both you and I will have a healthier respect for the writing process or we’ll better learn how to pace ourselves and not push our motivation to the breaking point.

It’s a balance we don’t always realize we need until we’ve lost it.

Are you in the middle of burnout? Feel it coming on or just climbing out of it? How do you plan to avoid it in the future?

************************************************
Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in rural Eastern Oregon in a town more densely populated with cows than people.