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Hey guys!

Today we have a discussion from Maddie Morrow! She tackles the topic of how to recharge your energy after finishing a big writing project! Listen up, and add your voices to the mighty throng!

Of discussion.

About this topic.

😛

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Recharging after a Big Project 

Is there any bigger thrill than typing “the end”? Probably, but we’re going to ignore them for right now.

Depending on how your project went, finishing it up can bring feelings of joy and a urgent drive to dive in and do more (be that start a new story, or go back and edit the draft you just finished) or it might bring feelings of utter exhaustion.

Either way, it’s important to take a moment and recharge your creative batteries. If finishing a project is the biggest thrill in life, creative burnout is definitely the worst low.

Here are my tips for recharging your creative batteries after a big project, so you’re ready to move forward when the time is right.

 

Tip 1. Celebrate.

You just finished a writing project! That’s huge! Take the time to revel in this momentous occasion. Get yourself some ice cream, or that book you’ve been wanting to buy for a few months. Shout it to your online writing group, or your social media. Share that joy. The best way to not get overwhelmed by writing is to take time to enjoy every victory so it doesn’t become dull and monotonous.

Tip 2. Read a book. 

This is one of my favorites. By the time I finish a novel (or at least a draft of it) I need to get away from my story. But I still have a huge thirst for adventure and suspense that I was getting from writing my own story. Diving into someone else’s writing let’s me rest the editing/plotting side of my brain (Hopefully. Sometimes I find myself editing books as well) and just enjoy a good story. This is subtly refueling my creativity because I’m soaking in plot details and prose and character development and hopefully growing in my own knowledge of writing as I’m relaxing. I personally like to read a book outside the genre I just finished reading—just another way to distance myself and relax. But a book of the same genre works well for other people, so find what works best for you.

Tip 3. Utilize other media. 

I personally go through spurts where I want nothing to do with reading. If that happens right after I finish a project, then I break out the Netflix, or my favorite old movies, or even Pinterest or a new Spotify playlist. All of these things help me gather new inspiration without having to think about one story in particular.

Tip 4. Indulge a different hobby. 

Life is our greatest inspiration. God designed nature to be a blessing to us, and one of the best refueling methods can be to get away from all forms of storytelling entirely. When I’m in the middle of a project none of my other hobbies get touched, because I’m in the zone. As soon as a project is finished the flood gates open and suddenly I’m out digging in the garden, sewing baby blankets, jamming on the guitar, or spending hours with my horse. Getting away and doing other things you enjoy is amazing therapy for a tired writer’s brain.

Tip 5. Start something new. 

My first urge when writing “the end” is to flip back to page 1 and start editing. If one draft finished is good, an entire novel edited and sent off to query is better. But that’s not good.

We need distance from our stories in order to be objective and clear-headed when its time to edit.

But sometimes I’m in such a mood to write that all of the other tips just don’t help me. They annoy me. In that case, I allow myself to start a different writing project. A poem, short story, or even a brand new novel. It just can’t be the project I just finished. It’s important you make sure to write a different style of story if you’re going to start writing right away again, because I think part of what drains writers so much is being stuck in the same place (story wise) for so long. The last four books I’ve written have been a western dystopia, a medieval fantasy, an urban fantasy, and a Viking story. They’re all fantasy, so I didn’t completely change genres, but the settings and characters are totally different from each other, so I avoided burnout from writing the “same” story over and over.

Tip 6. Take the time you need. 

When my novella, Red as Blood, was published in the Five Poisoned Apples anthology, the edits and revisions were back to back. No sooner did I finish one round than they sent another. And I was so tired of reading that story over and over again I pretty much came to hate it and second-guess everything I had written. Since we had a tight deadline, that couldn’t be helped, but if you’re writing on your own it’s best to not rush yourself so hard. If I have no deadline I like to take anywhere from two weeks to two months between finishing a draft and going back to edit it. When I feel ready to return to that world, it will feel fresh and not quite so familiar, so inconsistencies are more likely to stand out and I’ll be able to catch them.

How do you like to recharge after a big project? 

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