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| Kathleen Fuller |
It takes organization and
discipline to accomplish the word counts we aspire to write each day or week. Kathleen Fuller offers encouragement
for those moments when you hit the wall. ~ Dawn
How
to Recharge When You’re Artistically Empty
Writing takes energy—creative, mental, and physical energy.
Eventually even the most prolific writers need to recharge. But how can a busy
writer find the time to refill the artistic tank when deadlines—and life in
general—get in the way? Here are a few ideas that will help you increase your
creativity and rejuvenate your writing.
1. Take a
break. While this may seem impossible due to approaching
deadlines, every writer needs some time away from the work. Choose one day
during the week to not write. Don’t even think about your story, or marketing,
or social media.
2. Focus
on doing something fun. On your day off, find an activity that you
enjoy. Don’t spend it doing housework or paying bills or scrubbing the
toilet—unless of course you consider those activities fun. Read a book, watch a
movie, play a game, take a walk, or engage in one of my favorite things:
napping.
3. Connect
with nature. When the weather is nice, go outside. When the
weather isn’t so nice, purchase a few easy to care for plants and place them in
your office. Taking a few moments throughout the day to look at your plants is
calming, which in turn can help the creative wheels turn.
4. Listen
to music. Create a writing playlist and listen to it while you’re
working. If have to write in silence, then listen to the playlist at the end of
the day. Tailor it to your book’s setting, theme, or characters.
5. Write
in twenty-minute spurts. Research shows that the human brain’s
maximum attention span is about twenty minutes. Set a timer for twenty minutes
and write. When the timer goes off, get up and do something physical. Take a
five-minute walk around the house, go get the mail, do some laundry, strike a
yoga pose—anything that requires physically moving the body. Then return to
your writing and set the timer again. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll get
accomplished and you won’t be as drained by the end of the workday.
There are many other ways to fill the artistic well, and it’s
important to find the ones that work for you. Just remember that all writers
get burned out and worn out, especially when they are constantly under creative
pressure. Taking care of both your mind and body can help keep that burn out at
bay and will also ignite your creative spark.
(A novella collection ...)
“A
Gift for Anne Marie”
Anne
Marie and Nathaniel have been best friends since they were kids. Now things are
evolving . . . in ways everyone else predicted long ago. But when her mother
suddenly decides to remarry in another state, Anne Marie’s new chapter with
Nathaniel looks doomed to end before it begins.
Kathleen Fuller
is the best-selling author of over twenty-five books, including the Hearts of
Middlefield series. A former special education teacher, she and her husband
James are parents to three children and divide their time between Ohio and
Arkansas.
Website and Newsletter sign up: www.kathleenfuller.com
