Why We Continue to Write and How to Avoid Burn Out

Sometimes we look past the original reasons we decided to write. There was the money and freedom first, but then there was the passion we had for the written word. Perhaps we were inspired by the success stories of freelancers found in magazines like "Writer's Digest" and "The Writer." Or maybe we loved the novels of Ernest Hemingway, and decided to write something that would make the legend proud. We work as writers, but sometimes forget these initial passions.

The passion for a writer can be a double-edged sword. Perhaps we write a whole 4,000 word chapter in a day. Or maybe ten articles of about 500 words are written. We have the passion, and think we are merely acting upon it. The problem is this leads to burnout. We lose our writing edge. We were obsessed with success, and forgot the initial reasons we decided to write. This is like working the dream job ten hours a day. We loved it, but lose that love. Sometimes the passion will overwhelm us. We lose sight of the tree in the forest.

There are ways to avoid the inevitable burn out. We set a pace for writing. We write half of what we wanted to write. Not sounding constructive? Well, we will write the same amount if we write with patience than if we race through it. We also might write better if we pace ourselves. Consider these thoughts: we write ten articles one day and not one the next because we are overloaded. We write five articles two days in a row. We have a head of steam now, and will usually continue down that road of progress. We will have the same amount of work done by allowing our mind to rest.

We need to remember the initial passion, and the later one, but not getting too obsessed with the work. Some writers can work ten hours a day five days a week, but many cannot. We have day jobs and other responsibilities. The beginning writer should not try and change the world in a day. Even the experienced writer need not let the passion for writing consume them.

Working as writers is usually about having a passion. We should allow ourselves the passion, but not let it overwhelm us. We need to work consistently to get the most out of our work, instead of treating writing like drugs-as an obsession.