April 9, 2010

In the midst of the doldrums, our writing lives come to a standstill. We stop writing, reading craft books and magazines,  journaling, critiquing, and researching.

There is actually a place near the equator named the Doldrums. Because of shifting winds and calm spots in the area, a sailboat caught in the Doldrums could be stranded for days due to lack of wind. When we’re caught in the writing doldrums, our writing boat is stranded for days too.

What causes this? The Doldrums near the equator are caused by alternating calms and squalls. Super highs and super lows. Hyperactivity and then no activity.

That’s exactly what causes the writing doldrums too.

Uneven Pacing

The cycling back and forth between hyperactivity and doldrums is where many of us live. NOTE: the hyperactivity can be writing-related or nonwriting activity. Writerly hyperactivity includes writing marathons for ten hours, getting caught up in the Twitter-Facebook-LinkedIn-MySpace-blog frenzy, and other ways of operating in hyper-drive. Nonwriting hyperactivity can be rushing from one kids’ activity to another while juggling your day job, a birthday party, a sick parent, and your aerobics class.

Either way, you’re too busy and out of balance. This always–and I do mean ALWAYS–is followed by the doldrums where you just can’t make yourself do a thing. (Partly it’s nature’s way of making you slow down and rest.)

Is this your pattern? If so, you’ve probably noticed that the time spent in the doldrums effectively wipes out how much you gained during the hyper times.

The Solution

Do you get tired of crashing, of having days of no productivity that follow your super productive days? After the flurry of frenzied activity that accompanies your adrenaline rush, your bodies, minds, emotions and spirits shut down. This can be prevented though!

It takes daily discipline, but it can be done. And oddly enough, the discipline that’s called for is slowing down. You want to avoid the hyperactive days–be they writing or nonwriting hyper days–so that the doldrums don’t automatically follow.

To avoid the crash, you have to avoid the frantic days that precede it.

Balance and Pacing

If you want to have a writing career that will go the distance, your best bet is to avoid the extreme highs so you can avoid the extreme lows. Even if you can write five straight hours, it’s better for most people to stop after two hours and take a break. Do something else, something physical. Change gears. Let the adrenaline subside. You can write again later if you have time.

If you’re hyper in the nonwriting world, it may mean saying “no” a lot more often. Not everyone who asks for your assistance needs it nearly as much as you need to stop and take a few deep breaths and relax. Most of us have such an automatic “yes” that we don’t even stop to think or pray about the request. It’s only later–when we’re up till midnight trying to get our own things done–that we realize we agreed to something that we should have declined.

The Pay-Off

The writers who last, who keep producing quality writing, are usually those who have found a way to stay on an even keel most of the time. Then they can write daily, produce pages that add up over time, and still have a balanced life away from the keyboard.

Give yourself permission to get out of hyper drive, and thus avoid the writing doldrums. You’re the only one who can make that change. I urge you–and ME–to begin today.

10 Comments »

1. 

   Miss Kristi, I feel like you’re in my living room reading this to me! I felt so over the top last week, and we took a mini vacation to escape. It felt wonderful to play with my hubby & kids, and you wouldn’t believe how my mind is ready to hit it again. It’s so easy to say yes – even to the little things like birthday invitations from kids I don’t even know, and church activities that I don’t have to do. Thank you for this excellent post, because saying no is difficult without feeling guilty about it. I’m either feeling guilty about my lack of writing time, or the lack of social time. I’m constantly trying to balance the two.

   Comment by Amy Tate — April 10, 2010 @ 2:12 pm

2. 

   Amy, I really thought I would stop being governed by guilt about twenty years ago, but it’s hard. We want to be kind and loving and involved–but where to draw the line is the hard part. Mother-writers especially (and grandmother-writers) seem to prioritize according to guilt. It’s a constant sorting process!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — April 10, 2010 @ 2:31 pm

3. 

   Makes me think of running, too. Growing up, I never did run. And even now, it’s hit and miss. When I’m training for a race, I always make sure I get in the workout. I’ve only been in 6 races in 10 years, so I’m still very much an amateur, and slow too. I do a lot of walk/run combos. BUT, I’m not running super fast or walking super slow. It averages out to be on a pretty even keel. In two years I took my marathon time down from 8.5 hours to 6.5 hours. With writing, I was in the doldrums for 10 years, but now…I’m on an all-time high. Sometimes frenzied, but mostly slow and steady. Even when I was a child, I was slow – parents and teachers even said so. So, now I can appreciate that. “Hey, I’m slow and I know it!” But, I’m gonna finish a lot of races that way – and books, too! Thanks for the post, as always.

   Comment by Christie Wright Wild — April 10, 2010 @ 2:51 pm

4. 

   Christie, you are so right. It is VERY MUCH like running. I never did a marathon–every time I got to about eleven miles, I got hurt (tripping, dogs, etc.) But I tended to be impatient and go at it too long and get shin splints or something. Yes, slow and steady wins the race. You’d like the book for adults called IN PRAISE OF SLOWNESS. Many of us are in danger of burning out before our time.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — April 10, 2010 @ 4:46 pm

5. 

   My four-year-old son told me today, after we read the Tortoise and the Hare, “Slow and steady!” My 4-year-old gets it…why can’t his mom figure it out??

   Maybe I should stop letting the wind carry me, lower the sails, and get going on the oars? I won’t get where I’m going quickly, but I’ll get there.

   Comment by Yvette — April 11, 2010 @ 7:29 pm

6. 

   Kristi, you’ve been looking at my life the last week! I just finished a HUGE community project. I was able to keep writing until about a week and a half before the end, when it began consuming all of every day until 1 or 2 am. This Monday, with the project over, I sat down to write my weekly goals, and simply could not make myself do it. I couldn’t even think about writing (or any other “work” except taxes, which I can’t avoid).

   I do several annual community projects which involve this sort of massive push at the end. I deal with it by giving myself permission to focus strictly on the project and not beat myself up over not doing anything else — writing or housecleaning. Along with that permission goes a certain amount of R&R immediately after — and then permission to leave both the hyperactivity and relaxation behind and begin my writing routine again. On my writing goals for this week, I simply wrote, “Set 3rd quarter goals.” By the latter part of the week, I figure I’ll have recovered enough to start looking ahead, and that will jumpstart me back into my writing projects.

   So your phrase “give yourself permission” works in several other ways, at least for me.

   Comment by Nancy — April 14, 2010 @ 12:41 am

7. 

   Kristi, what an excellent piece! It’s SO true! And the older I get, the more true it becomes. I am a classic workaholic and used to write 50 hours a week. These days, I’m raising our younger two (we have four, ranging from age 22 down to age 6, college grad down to kindergartener!)in my late forties, and my energy level doesn’t have the surges it used to. Thanks for great advice and for writing something that made me go, “So I’m not the only one?”

   Comment by Lorri Cardwell-Casey — April 19, 2010 @ 5:42 am

8. 

   Thank you for the additional comments,Yvette, Nancy, and Lorri! I fully agree that aging influences the energy level, no matter how well you take care of yourself. Yes, when deadlines loom (be they writing deadlines or the IRS), we can beat ourselves into finishing, but we need recovery time afterwards. And WITHOUT GUILT!! Let’s get rid of the guilt over needing recovery time.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — April 19, 2010 @ 1:44 pm

9. 

   Late reading this one but yes, I too am saying “so I’m not the only one?!” Great post. I think something I’ve been learning is to ride the wave. When I have the energy, make the most of my time and effort. And when my energy is low or I’m feeling pulled in other directions, I’m learning not to defeat myself by beating myself up. The wave will come in again eventually.

   Comment by Dianne — June 23, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

10. [...] In search of inspiration last night, or at least an explanation of why writing is so hard some days, I decided to search the internet. My first instinct is to call this “Googling,” though I was using a different search engine. I entered: “writing doldrums” and was instantly rewarded by an article by the author Kristi Holl at Writer’s First Aid. [...]

    Pingback by The Writing Doldrums — This Eclectic Life — September 4, 2010 @ 7:32 am

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