Writing burnout

Some criticism of my writing made me realize that I am trying too hard to 'get stuff done' and my writing is suffering because of it.

I get too upset that people just won't care what I have to say. I used to get so many reviews for my (admittedly bad) fanfics when I used to write for the fun of it. Now when I write anything that I intend to show people something always goes wrong.

When I write stuff for me I actually felt accomplishment and had a good time. But the one time I posted a "just for me' story and it got ignored I felt like I had just wasted my time.

I feel terribly guilty when I don't get writing done on the draft of my first book. My dad isn't helping as he is always claiming I'm doing nothing and going to slow because I haven't gotten stuff published. As a result writing has become something I 'have to do' and now it's stressful. (I wish I could confront my dad about his "you're not really doing anything" attitude and how it's making me stressed but in this household Dad is always right)

I want writing to be something I enjoy again.

edited 10th Apr '11 12:59:06 PM by JewelyJ

Have you tried finding other people to be around when you write, say other writers or people who can encourage you to continue writing?

Do something else for a while, to recharge.

Well I am part of a writers yahoo group and there is the Nano Wri Mo.

Yeah that sounds good.

edited 10th Apr '11 1:28:31 PM by JewelyJ

Seconding on the recharge idea. Having time where you deliberately don't think about something can be a major boon in the middle of a big project, even if its just mindless fun.

I can also empathize on the "you're not doing anything" bit — my mom may not be too vocal about it most of the time, but it does get really irritating when I've been doing more in the last six months than in the last four years combined. It starts to get a bit "WTH?" after a while, especially since she's only complaining now.

edited 10th Apr '11 1:42:09 PM by Dec

here's my logic backed-up by my experiences

dads are failures -> dads are wrong

Cynical, yes. True? For me at least.

Don't listen to your dad, he's full of it and has no clue what he was talking about.

When I said my post I was more thinking about people in real life.

However Leradny's suggestion is certainly an option to consider as well.

We all get discouraged. I somewhat rage-quit my book for over a year almost. The only thing that got me back into it was... well, I am not sure what did actually, it was a combination of things.

Our works will be torn apart 50 times before we get it right, and even then when we do make it there will be haters and people who do not like it; the thing is doing it for those who will like it.

I understand how getting the image in your head can be hard; I have a hell of a time describing environment.

It's damn hard, but in my opinion, it will be worth it in the end when a work is polished and ready for the world to see.

You'll never be happy writing if you do it for other people. Write for yourself first. If you depend on the opinions of others, you'll set yourself up for disappointment.

If you're burned out, try working in a different genre. That's one of the best ways to really learn the craft, do something you don't feel an aptitude for.

If you're really burned out, take a break. Take up a different hobby. You'll come back when you're ready, or you may find that you'd rather do something else.