The empty shelves

Getting stuck, getting stale, and getting bored

Hey there, everyone (and a big welcome to new subscribers!)

How about we start with a quote today?

“A purely hectic rush produces nothing new. It reproduces and accelerates what is already available.” —The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han found via Mandy Brown of A Working Library

There’s endless talk out there about filling our wells. Output needs input! Inspiration can take time, rest, space! We hear the words. But then quickly explain that, though we agree, we don’t have time for that right now and rush to our next deadline. Or was that just me? ;)

I think because some of us are technically capable of moving forward with the barest of well-filling, we think, oh, that burnout monster won’t get me! I can run faster. I can throw in a weekend of movie-watching and a bubble bath and I’ll be good to go.

And that may work…for a while. If you read Becca Syme’s Dear Writer, Are You In Burnout? she’ll warn you that it will catch up to you. Because that monster is tireless.

But the quote above got me thinking about another aspect of this rushing forward that we don’t talk about as much—the effect it has on our actual writing. What happens when we’re always living in that “purely hectic rush” he mentions?

Well, if we think of our nuggets of inspiration as being stored in a big pantry instead of a deep well, we, as newbie writers, presumably start off with packed shelves. We’ve been wanting to write a book all our lives, we’ve been saving up those ideas—storing them away, labeling them, organizing them. We’re prepping for the big event. We have lots to choose from.

But as we move through our careers, we start taking those cans and jars of inspiration out of the pantry at a faster rate. We’re putting out books as quickly as we can. We’re trying to come up with as many interesting meals (stories) as we can, given this supply of ingredients.

But then we stop giving ourselves time to go to the store and replace those cans and jars. And we definitely don’t take the time to shop for fresh and exotic ingredients that might inspire us to try something different or add a little more spice. That weekend “break” we take may be the equivalent of running into the store to grab a loaf of bread and some peanut butter to get by for a little while longer. We won’t starve, but we won’t make anything new either.

In Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act he says:

“If an artist keeps playing the same note, eventually the audience loses interest. There’s a dullness in sameness. At a certain point in the creator’s journey, the mind can become more resistant to new methods and styles of expression. A once-useful routine might, over time, turn into a narrow, fixed way of working.” —The Creative Act, pg. 284

In my head, I hear “a narrow, fixed way of writing.” And I know I can fall into this, especially when I don’t give myself time to rest and replenish. I start cribbing from my previous work without realizing it because that’s all that’s left in the pantry. This time it’s peanut butter and jelly! This time it’s peanut butter and banana!

I think part of the issue is that when you write genre fiction, that first line of the quote isn’t necessarily true. Many readers love getting the same thing over and over with only small variations. That’s why there are readers out there who pick one or two prolific authors and just read all of their stuff. That’s why some readers complain when an author writes something different than what they wrote before. There’s comfort and stability in the familiar. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with feeling that way (especially in a low-stability world.)

Some writers thrive on that stability as well. This is my recipe. It works. I will continue to do this.

If it’s working and you feel creatively fulfilled by that and your readers are happy, go for it!

However, if you’re not that kind of writer, over time, that cycle can suck the fun out of writing.

I’m a writer (and reader and cook) who craves variety and new challenges. This is why I do the Read Wide challenge for my reading. This is why I own hundreds of cookbooks and rarely repeat recipes. And this is why by the time I get to writing the third book in a series, I’m dreading going to my desk because I’m feeling all been here, done this already.

I need lots of fresh inspiration and challenge or I get bored. And when I get bored, I get stuck. And when I get stuck, I get stressed. And then I get sad. And then I can’t write and thus begins a vicious cycle.

Plus, there’s part of me that has a little rebel streak (hey there, Gen X). I don’t want to “reproduce what is already available” like the quote says—even if that thing will sell. That rebel streak is obnoxious but persistent. More than once it has made my books hard to “position”—how do we market a romance that has a school shooting backstory (The Ones Who Got Away)? how do we package a romance that has some humor but is more rom dram than rom com (Yes & I Love You and the rest of that series)?

But I need those “different” or “challenging to market” aspects to keep my muse interested. I think my muse is Bad Willow from Buffy:

However, if I’m caught up in the constant rush of word counts and deadlines and marketing and social media, those juicy bits of inspiration or rebellion that provide fuel for the writing never happen. They can’t get in the pantry door. I’m stuck with my jar of peanut butter and then don’t want to make anything at all.

So, this is one of the things I’m focusing on right now. I’m slowing down and letting myself be open-minded and wildly curious about whatever ideas or topics capture my attention without dismissing them out of hand as “not useful” or “not on brand” or “outside of my wheelhouse or ability.”

Rick Rubin suggests: “To keep artistic output evolving, continually replenish the vessel from which it comes. And actively stretch your point of view ...try to see beyond your own filter.” (pg. 284, The Creative Act)

I probably don’t even realize how many filters I have on things. Will this fit with what I’ve written before? Will a publisher want this? Is it on trend? Does it fit neatly into a romance trope? Do I have the chops to pull that idea off?

And on and on.

I bet you have filters too, especially if you’ve read a lot of articles or taken a lot of classes on “what sells.”

I’m not saying go out and write a romance that doesn’t have a happy ending or a mystery that doesn’t get solved. (We will collectively cut you.) But maybe think about what parameters you lock yourself into and consider whether it’s feeding your creativity or stifling it.

Are you bored, creatively speaking?

Also, think about your pantry. Are you taking time to stock it with fresh ideas or are you getting down to just jars of peanut butter?

Let me know! I feel like I’m talking into the ether sometimes, lol. (Also, if you’re a subscriber, you can hit reply on this email if you don’t want to post a message publicly. It will just come to me.)

Hope you have a great week! Thanks for reading!

Roni