Don't Make Light of Another Writer's Plight / Keep Writing with Fey BLOG HOP

Today is blog hop day for Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer's Block, Depression, and Burnout.

Participants are sharing their stories about writer's block, depression, and/or burnout and how they overcame it or what they are currently doing to heal.

Visit them here:

Don't Make Light of Another Writer's Plight

Since I talk about my struggles and the things I have done that helped me with writer’s block, depression, and burnout in Keep Writing with Fey, I am going to do something a little different for this post.

WRITER'S BLOCK:

There are people who will say that writer’s block isn’t real. I disagree. (Obviously.) I’m not going to try to change anyone’s mind if they believe there’s no such thing as writer’s block, as I hope they will allow me my opinion, but I do want to address something.

Whenever someone says that writer’s block doesn’t exist or is a myth, they usually follow that up with something like “you just have to put your butt in the seat and write.” Or they will even claim that you’re just not writing because you don’t want it badly enough.

That is pretty damaging to hear when you're the writer struggling.

You can certainly believe writer’s block isn't real (again, I’m not attempting to change your mind), but PLEASE do NOT further knock down the writers who are struggling (for whatever reason), because you don’t know what challenges they're facing in life that you, yourself, are not facing. You don’t know how they feel when they want to write and try but nothing happens. And you won’t know until it happens to you.

One day, it might, whether you believe it’s real or not. You might even give it another name, since you don’t believe writer’s block is an actual condition. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that no one makes light of your struggles, so please, don’t make light of another writer’s hardships when they say they have writer’s block. Don’t laugh. Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t say it’s a cop out. Instead, offer support. We all need to be more supportive of each other.

 

BURNOUT:

Writer's burnout (or any kind of burnout) can come and go for some, but it doesn’t just disappear for everyone. And for some people, as it was for me, it is a very big deal. (My burnout wasn’t a symptom of writing too much. It was a symptom of EVERYTHING related to being an author.) My experience with burnout was destructive. It lasted a year (more even, since I didn't identify it until a year had already passed), and I couldn’t write. I tried. I tried my hardest. I WANTED to write. Sometimes I’d manage to write a little one day, only for my burnout to be even worse the next day.

Your burnout might not have lasted long, and you might have been able to get out of it with a bit of downtime, but not every case of burnout is the same, just as every writer is different. A short break sometimes isn’t enough.

Maybe you’ve never experienced burnout, in which case you’re fortunate and I hope you never do, but not having had to deal with something up to this point doesn’t mean you’re immune.

DEPRESSION:

Finally, there are even people who believe depression is fake…a lie. They don’t understand depression or why someone can’t just pull themselves out of it. Just because you’ve never experienced depression doesn’t mean it’s fake or not serious, and it’s definitely not something that someone can turn off like flipping a switch.

I never thought I’d have writer’s block…until I did.

I never thought I’d be depressed…until I was.

I never thought I’d get burned out…until burnout nearly derailed everything.

So, please, don’t make light of another writer's plight.

If you have or are experiencing writer’s block, depression, and/or burnout, check out my book. I hope it helps you through your hardships.

Take care, everyone! And thank you for taking part in my blog hop!

BLURB:

Catch the sparks you need to conquer writer’s block, depression, and burnout!

When Chrys Fey shared her story about depression and burnout, it struck a chord with other writers. That put into perspective for her how desperate writers are to hear they aren’t alone. Many creative types experience these challenges, battling to recover. Let Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer's Block, Depression, and Burnout guide you through:

· Writer's block

· Depression

· Writer's burnout

· What a writer doesn’t need to succeed

· Finding creativity boosts

With these sparks, you can begin your journey of rediscovering your creativity and get back to what you love - writing.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon / Nook / iTunes / Kobo

SHARE: Your story about writer's block, depression, and/or burnout and how you overcame it or what you are currently doing to heal.