Creativity Rambles | Burnout?

It’s been a very slow writing month.

June has also been a very busy month where non-writing things are concerned, and so writing has happened in small sprints here and there. But the slowness in the writing has less to do with time and more to do with my focus, and feeling a bit of a creative disconnect lately. (Is that a term? I’m going to use it anyway because it feels pretty accurate. *nervous laugh*)

I’ve just had a very difficult time focusing on anything when it comes to writing lately, which has been a struggle because when I’m not writing, all kinds of ideas for my stories are bouncing around in my brain because I want to be writing. And then when I can write…well, the words don’t want to cooperate. I know what I need to write—the notes and outlines and brainstorming are all right there.

I’ve been here before a few times, and it always feels like this weirdly endless cycle of not being able to break through whatever wall it is that’s keeping the creativity from working. I’ve tried forcing myself to write, and that works with little side stories and random scenes, but it hasn’t been working for the scenes I need to fix in The Treasonist’s Son, or working to make much progress on possible Camp NaNo ideas.

So I’ve been dabbling and waiting and trying to do all the things that make me feel inspired to write.

But it’s been a difficult year for focusing on anything, I’ll admit. Life has been full of so many changes in the last six months or so, and while most of the changes are good changes, I’ve never been great at adjusting to a lot of change at one time. My brain feels like it’s been in a constant state of moving toward new “phases” and I’ve had a difficult time settling into the new things as easily as I’d like to.

Add to that that weird, post-COVID brain fog, and…yeah. Focus has not been easy. Thankfully, the brain fog hasn’t been as bad it was in those first couple of months, though there are times it strikes and I have a hard time even remembering how to continue a task I’m right in the middle of. It made writing particularly difficult for a while.

Still, I enjoy writing. I’ve had to take a step back from it this month and try to figure out new approaches, and dig deep to see if there’s something about the stories that aren’t working, or if it’s just me, and it’s been a weird time. It feels kind of like burnout, I guess. I’m still chipping away at projects and tasks and everyday life stuff, because I don’t want to  just drop everything and do nothing at all.

But creatively speaking, I keep hitting a wall and I think the wall is burnout, and I’m still not sure how to move past that yet. I’ve done it before, so I know I can, eventually. Doesn’t make the waiting period any less frustrating though.

Soooo, if you stuck around for these rambles (rants?), I’d love to know: How are you faring on the creative front this year? What’s inspiring you lately? What are your best tips for getting through a period of burnout? Tell me all the things!