Stemming first-draft burnout

[Incanus]

Although I’ve come a long way in writing my novel–further than I would have thought before I started–I’m finding my endurance flagging as I approach the home stretch. I’ve been putting in close to the same amount of time I have since the beginning, but I seem to have more difficulty concentrating and maintaining my endurance.

I have little doubt that I will finish this draft, but I’m wondering now if I should be taking a night off here and there at this point. I was most productive during the first two months or so, but have steadily fallen into my old habits that generate less prose per session (the worst being that I want the prose to read nice and polished right off the bat–I know better, but I just do it anyway).

So I stand here hat in hand both shamelessly and humbly asking for a little pep talk, or advice, from my fellow Scribians.

Do I listen to my worn down body and mind and start adding in a few breaks or days-off, or do I just suck it up and keep on crawling forward at whatever rate I happen to be working at? Or, perhaps, something else?

 

[Garren Jacobsen]

A writer at rest tends to stay at rest until their inner muse kicks them in the ass. A writer that's writing tends to stay writing until carpal tunnel catches up with them. Don't stop. This is the inevitable plateu. The part where you reach the farthest you have ever been from home and if you take one step further you'll be out in wide world. It's a dangerous business Incanus, writing a full novel, because if you don't keep your momentum there is no telling when you might return. Press on is my advice, you'll be better off for it. Remember, even if it is crap it can be turned to a polished diamond in post.

 

[Chessie]

What Brian Scott said. All of it.

Incanus, not sure if this is your first novel or if you've been writing for a while, but periods of burn out do happen. Whether it's a dangerous burn out (like, you've been pushing too hard and are getting sick) or you're having difficulties maintaining momentum and productive sessions, comes down to common sense. You're nearing the end of your first draft, which means you're probably starting to wear thin on it. This is normal.

Keep going.

Recharge by taking a look at your goals, even if right now that's just to finish this draft. By all means, take a day off once a week or whenever you feel like you need it, then get back to it the next day. Writing is hard work and even though you love it, that doesn't mean there won't be days when you'd rather pull your teeth out than put words on a page.

 

[Penpilot]

I agree with Brian.

If you've never finished a novel before, I say press on until your fingers bleed. This is what I did with my first novel.

It's not all about just the story. Part of it is developing stamina and gaining the first hand knowledge of what it really takes to finish.

For myself, I dream of writing for a living. And if the door opens for me, I know that I'll have to be able write when I'm not feeling it. There will be deadlines, and unless my name is GRRM, not meeting them is not an option. IMHO a professional writer should be able to write at the drop of a hat, inspired or not. So developing that ability is important to me.

 

[Incanus]

BSA--thank you for that. I really liked what you said, and how you said it (re-wording Bilbo's words of wisdom pertaining to beginning a journey was quite clever, I must say).

Yeah, a plateu is where I'm at. And yes, this will be my first novel (though hardly my first attempt).

When I say I am thinking about taking breaks, I don't mean coming to a stop. Just taking a night off every week or two, as Chesterama mentioned. The good news is that I already have worked through any number of blah-ish evenings, and I know I can keep doing it.

And just to put it all in perspective: I've been working 7 nights a week, 1.5 to 4 hours per day (usually about 2-ish), since September 11, 2015. There were probably about 7 or 8 days I didn't work--days like Christmas and Thanksgiving. But it's been rock-steady otherwise.

I CAN do it. Not only that, I AM doing it--

You folks are the best!

 

[skip.knox]

You might take a look at the current Mythic Scribes article on writer fatigue. Not just the article but the comments as well. Yes, I wrote it, but it's not _my_ fault you're relevant!

 

[Erudite]

Morning writing challenges - write for 30-60 minutes and just follow your train of thought without guiding it. Gets my creativity flowing and allows me to bypass the whole "Boredom in writing" from repeatedly approaching the same topic.

 

[Incanus]

Thanks for the heads up on that article, Skip. In addition to being what I wanted to read about, it serves as a reminder to check out that page more often.

It appears I've been doing at least a few of these things the right way (or a recommended way, as it were). I have some built-in goof-off time and down-time already. Indeed, I think these things have helped me get as far as I have at this point.

On the other hand, there is always room for improvement. I used to take a lot of walks. I've only been on one since I started this draft. It appears I've put on about five pounds since I started drafting as well. I know I could certainly do better with my eating habits. Nothing is out of bounds here, I'm willing to contemplate just about anything that looks like it might put me that much closer to my goal: a finished, polished novel.

My hobbit hole is well out of sight behind me now and the wilderness I find myself traversing is both fascinating and challenging. But I remain confident I'll make it there, and back again.

Thanks to everyone that posted here!

 

[Miskatonic]

Do you know what the end is yet?

 

[Incanus]

Do you know what the end is yet?

Basically, broadly, largely. The details still need to be found once I get there. But, yes. I had the end figured out before I put down the first word, but only in the roughest sense.

I think one reason I'm slogging a bit right now is that I'm smack in the middle of a big 'set-piece'--a scene that's been set up for a while. I tend to slow up while tackling these portions so I don't miss anything (well... so I don't miss too much, I should probably say).

 

[Caged Maiden]

Fatigue is real, and it's a personal thing. I'm going to give you a comparison, for what that's worth. I'm not athletic in any way. If I try to run, I get really tired in like a minute. It's so sad. But so true.

So anyways, I probably COULD build up my stamina and be able to run a mile without stopping, but it's just...so not WORTH it to me. I simply freaking hate running. I don't want to get good at it, despite my wishing I was, you know, able to do some small amount of cardio.

If you have a goal to be able to run a mile, and it's WORTH it to you to meet that accomplishment, you gotta do what it takes to work your way up to being able to do it. My friend did Couch to 5k, and she had never run before, and it took a few months, but she not only lost weight (she wasn't overweight to begin with, dropped 10-15 lbs.), but found confidence in her never before known ability to run 5k! Writing is kinda like that.

If you want to be able to write a novel a year, or two novels a year, or a novel in eight weeks and repeat that three times a year, then you have to work up to that goal. That's what I'm doing right now, in fact. I've finished ten first draft novels, one a year, but I can't edit them at anything near that pace. So I'm like not the "runner" I want to be. I need to learn how to edit faster, so that's what I'm currently training for. I just spent three years learning HOW to edit, now I need to be able to apply the process quickly and take it to the level of professional quality that is my current goal.

Basically, you gotta be honest with yourself. If YOU have been an every day writer for six months, or two years, or ten years, YOU have to judge what you need. It isn't one size fits all. I took two months off when I moved and my computer died, and I didn't write one thing. I didn't think about writing, and I didn't read anything. And I felt rejuvenated and alive, having freed myself from the grindstone. And when I bought a new computer and started back in, my work was better and my energy increased, and I was a happier writer. But then I got bogged down in horrible, taxing edits again, and my productivity ground to a halt as I switched from writing back to editing, and so I've come back to this current situation, where I need to do the hard work that is fatiguing again, to build up to a new level of stamina.

But I'm not ashamed to say I took two months off. I feel perfectly allowed to do it. I've already done the work. I was an every day writer for the last five years. Screw not taking days off, I'll take weeks off if I want to! HA! But again, in that regard, I'm like a person who knows they can run a marathon anytime they want to, always in shape to do it. But right now, I'm struggling to learn new things, and that can be very disheartening. It doesn't benefit me to spend every day punishing myself with a notebook and colored pens in hand, and a computer strapped to my ankle. If you are making progress on something and then fatigue causes that progress to STOP, then you need to think about what you need. But to be good at achieving a balance in this regard, you must be completely honest with yourself.

Some people need a schedule, like maybe 10am-1pm, that's their writing time and they do it every day when they're most alert and productive. Or, maybe they write when they can, in small bursts, but make sure one whole weekend day each week is spent at the library where they are most productive, and that's their personal commitment to their writing, to forgo other fun things on either a Saturday or Sunday, planned around important engagements.

Each individual is different. If you have an honest relationship with yourself, you can test things and see what works best, like limiting your diet to see what is upsetting your stomach, or whatever.

Try writing every day. Try writing four days a week and making yourself get out two days a week with friends on a regular basis, and spend the last day knee deep in guilty pleasures (like zombie movies or Skyrim, or whatever you really enjoy). Do you notice that during the weeks you spend with friends you are a more focused writer on the four days you spend writing? Do you feel distracted when you're writing, like you constantly think about how much you want that guy to just die in Walking Dead?

There are an infinite number of possibilities, so try a few of them, and be honest about how you do. I find that when I begin my mornings by cleaning my house, I'm a more productive writer when I sit down to write, despite technically spending less time on the writing. Why is that? I don't know. Maybe it's because I feel freer to "waste" time writing when I know I've put in a good effort to do my duties first. Maybe I feel more relaxed if my house is clean and I don't feel there's "something else I should be doing". Maybe I use my hour or so of sweeping, making beds, and folding laundry to process things subconsciously. I don't know how many times brilliant ideas have come to me out of the blue, sometimes with a mop in hand or while chopping veggies for dinner.

Yesterday, my reheated leftover enchilada went cold as I scribbled notes about a scene connection that came to me as I was microwaving up some quick lunch. Today, I slammed on the brakes of singing folk songs in my kitchen while I washed the stove and counter, to hunt down a brand new notebook and some highlighters and post-its because I had a fresh novel idea that SO NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN.

Basically, if you NEED to push yourself to be an every day writer because if you don't, you'll just peter out and stop again, then push yourself. Keep up your habit and make yourself do it, even if you're not very productive some days.

If you need to unchain yourself form the writing desk in order to feel some human touch and actually engage in a conversation that isn't about ending sentences with prepositions...get out and have dinner with a friend. If you have begun looking like a cave fish, but are cruising along and don't want to stop, change your scenery. Go write at the park and get some sun!

The bigger point I'm trying to make is that some people suffer from depression (like me), and it's actually harmful to intentionally force yourself to do something that's causing the depression symptoms to be worse. I was depressed for a year when I first moved here (before moving again this last year), and all I did was edit and write, and I suffered for it. So again, being honest with yourself is really key. That was why I took two months off when we moved into the new house. I knew it was the right thing to do, though it was hard to go so long without writing.

Another important point is that you not tie your happiness too closely to "getting it finished" or any other version of that. I am naturally inclined to feel low some days, and it's really hard to fight the urge to say to myself, "Ill feel better if I can just finish this scene/ that dialogue/ this book." Or worse, heap pressure on yourself by thinking that you'll feel a sense of accomplishment if you "finish a book/ get something published/ send five queries." I don't want to sound discouraging, but that sort of thinking is one of the reasons I was so unhappy with writing and life in general last year. I didn't feel better. I didn't feel more accomplished. Now, I just have a dozen novels that aren't publishable. SO will I feel better if I self-publish one/ Well I doubt it, if my fate is going to be bad reviews and a slow trickle of sales. I won't feel good about that. So be very careful what your goal is and what your expectation is. It's wonderful to have a goal to finish something, but I've finished loads of things, and I'm still not FINISHED with them. SO my self-satisfaction is delayed. And that's no good.

Have a goal. Clearly define it. Set yourself up to achieve it. And reward yourself for meeting the realistic goal. Then, as your stamina is improved and your goals become easier to meet, raise the bar. Be honest with yourself, and talk and share with other writers, because we all know how it is, and it helps to commiserate or share, or just help someone else tackle their problem, rather than worry about yours overmuch.




Best wishes. Be healthy, above everything else.

 

[Incanus]

Thanks CM! (I'm all out of the other kinds of thanks for the moment.)

Your thoughts, wisdom, and experience are ALWAYS appreciated. I think I'm mostly going to be OK, but the words of my fellow writers is a great benefit. I know I'm not alone and I know much of what I'm experiencing has been experienced before.

I should be typing THE END before two more months elapse. But if it takes four, so be it.

 

[Miskatonic]

Basically, broadly, largely. The details still need to be found once I get there. But, yes. I had the end figured out before I put down the first word, but only in the roughest sense.

I think one reason I'm slogging a bit right now is that I'm smack in the middle of a big 'set-piece'--a scene that's been set up for a while. I tend to slow up while tackling these portions so I don't miss anything (well... so I don't miss too much, I should probably say).

Write one version of how the novel ends and see what happens. Maybe work backwards from that point.