Exhaustion Trumps Creativity
So we still haven't quite settled in yet. There are still lots of boxes that need to be unpacked (but today I finished putting my food storage in my part of my mom's pantry. Yay!) and houses that we need to look at and kids that still don't have a new routine and are literally waking up every hour of the night because they're 1) still not accustomed to being here; 2) scared of the dark (and the basement room, despite having windows, is still very dark); 3) sick; 4) could possibly be out to make sure that I never get three hours of consecutive sleep again as punishment for the major disruption in their lives.
As I just put the kids in bed and remembered that I needed to blog today, I'm drawing a massive blank. There's nothing in my head except how much I want to sleep.
What did you do as a writer when you go through patches like this? Do you still write? Are you still creative? Or does your exhaustion take everything out of you?
As I just put the kids in bed and remembered that I needed to blog today, I'm drawing a massive blank. There's nothing in my head except how much I want to sleep.
What did you do as a writer when you go through patches like this? Do you still write? Are you still creative? Or does your exhaustion take everything out of you?
Sariah Wilson — 9/18/2010 10:49:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I've been suffering from sleep problems for several months now, and eventually the exhaustion just took over and smothered my creativity. The desire to write is still there, flickering weakly, but my attention span is less than five minutes and I find it much more difficult than usual to come up with solutions for the problems. So much so, in fact, that (I'm ashamed to have to admit this) I've temporarily gone on a writing hiatus. I'm sorry I can't give you any words of encouragement because I'm still in the middle of it all, but I keep hoping and praying that things will turn around one day, I will overcome my exhaustion, and I will be able to reawaken my creativity without having lost any of it. I will hope the same for you now, too. :-)
Sleep! Don't worry about writing. The situation you're in is temporary--soon you'll get settled and the kids will get into a routine. My vote would be this: when doing a little writing helps you de-stress and gives you a fun outlet, do it. When it's a stressful must-do-but-I'd-rather-sleep, then cross it off the list for now and don't worry about it. Give yourself a break--moving is an incredibly stressful, busy time.
Melanie and Sariah, both of you need to take Stephanie's advice. Sleep is a priority right now, so is ensuring a smooth transition for your children, sleep when you can and let your writing muse simmer for awhile. Just remember today's woman can do everything, just not all at the same time.
Oh, yeah, I'm SO there with you, Sariah. Over the past two months my book THE HEALING SPELL (Scholastic) launched, I've done mailings and 8 book event/parties, traveled, illness, family crises AND had a sudden deadline to turn in my next novel (62,000 words) in 6 weeks. Yep, you read that right - WRITE THE ENTIRE BOOK IN 6 WEEKS. I emailed it to my editor last Friday. It's been INSANE! I'm hoping to catch up on rest, shopping, reading and blogging this week before I get my editorial letter. Oh, and church callings, housework, errands, and another book event this Saturday! No rest for the LDS woman/writer/mom, eh?
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