To Be a Better Writer, Quit Writing
By: Cassandra Sigmon
Tags: Writing Advice, Writers Life, Burnout, Quality Vs Quantity, Writing Tips

It’s okay to let your pieces sit

Everyone has a different writing process, but mine involves leaving drafts alone for days, sometimes weeks. If I leave a draft alone for a few days and come back, I can read it from a new perspective. Sometimes I come back to a draft ten times before being satisfied and publishing it.

Since my writing process is long, I normally work on multiple posts at the same time. I work on multiple books and short stories at the same time too. Some sit longer than others. The key is to not feel pressured. You don’t have to write like a machine. You are a person with a life and you can write on your own timetable.

Once again, if it’s worth writing about, then it’s worth taking a long time to write it. You don’t need to be a perfectionist, but you don’t need to be rushed either.

This piece sat for nearly a week as I kept coming back to it, adding or removing sections. About a week is when I call it quits. Whether it’s ready or not, it is time to hit publish.

As for the books I’m currently writing, well, any deadline goals I had for finishing them have flown out the window. I have discovered that I write the best in spurts. I work on one of my books like crazy for a week, then let it sit for a month. When I come back, I have a fresh look and about a hundred new ideas.

Streaks are worthless

We live in a world where people are consumed with streaks. People brag about their routines. It makes us feel good to stick to a daily habit.

A writing streak can become just as addicting as any other streak. Let’s say you set a goal to write one post a day. After a few weeks, it’s natural to be proud of your accomplishment. Those numbers just look so good!

Some writers have a set time for writing, as well as a set number of hours or words to write per day. Personally, I don’t like the idea of streaks. It puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on you to not miss a single day. And if you do miss a day, then it can easily be upsetting, which is not helpful at all.

For me, instead of regularly writing, I regularly quit. As author Mark Batterson says, “Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective.”

Writing is all about perspective. I need a new one, like…all the time.

Change of pace means I quit writing regularly. It’s okay to take a day off. It’s okay to write the title and subtitle of a post, then leave it for two weeks.

Change of place doesn’t have to be drastic. Sometimes a change of location just means getting away from the computer and going to the porch, or the couch, or yes, even my bed.

One of the reasons I became a writer is because I don’t like routine. That hasn’t changed. Routine is overrated.

If nothing else, I need one day a week where I don’t have to write anything. One day to quit and forget about work. You probably need that too.

Try to avoid burnout

Burnout is real. And it sucks.

I really love writing. And I would hate to mess up how I feel about words. I would hate to sit down at my laptop and feel dread…but that’s exactly what would happen if I wrote more and wrote consistently.

Sometimes I have to quit writing in order to keep writing, because it takes balance. Taking lots of little breaks helps keep me from breaking down later.

Having a writing job can be stressful, because there is always pressure to do better. Often, I feel like I am not writing enough or marketing enough. If you are a freelance writer, there’s pressure from clients. If you are a fiction writer, there might be pressure from your literary agent or your fans. There’s always pressure.

I don’t have super non-stress powers. I can’t keep up. If I tried to keep up with everything I need to do, I would be exhausted. I would be stressed and sick of working. And as a result, my writing would really suck.

So I make compromises. I quit writing for a day. I put off publishing a post for three days. I ignore my social media for a week.

As a freelance writer, I don’t quit on my clients. If I have a deadline, I make the deadline. As far as work priorities come, the client is always first.

But with my personal writing, I have more freedom. To avoid burnout, sometimes I have to quit writing for a little bit.

I don’t write for the money

Newsflash: going for quality over quantity does not always make the most money, at least not in the beginning. It normally does better in the long run though.

But I don’t write for the money. Sure, I make money writing. But I write because I love to write, not because it’s a get-rich-quick plan.

Trust me, I will write whether I have an audience or not.

If you are writing just for the money, then sure, burn yourself out trying to cough up as many articles as possible. If your goal is to make the most money then, from what I have seen, quantity does matter more than quality.

But if you want to be a better writer and improve the quality of your work, then take some time to examine your relationship with your words. They are not going anywhere. Maybe your pieces deserve more time and attention, and that’s okay.

Start writing again

This might be the most important thing to remember. If you quit and take a break, you have to come back. You have to get started again. It’s easy to push things aside and say you will do them later. So, if you quit writing, you need a plan to get back at your desk.

The plan doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be something as simple as this: “I’m going to quit writing all week, then start back next Monday.” You can specify the time if you want, and say “Monday at noon.”

You simply need something to hold you accountable so you can come back to your writing projects. Mark your calendar, set an alarm, or pack up your laptop and head to your favorite coffee shop. If you set aside time to quit, make sure you set aside time to resume writing as well.

There’s always exceptions

Okay, so now that I have suggested you slow down, take a break from writing, and focus on quality, guess what? There are always exceptions. There are writers who thrive on strict routines and burn through laptops creating quality work in record time.

If that works for you, go for it! Everyone’s writing process is different. There is nothing that makes my writing process any better than your writing process.

But remember, it’s okay to stop every once in a while. You can shut off the computer, take a nap, and say, “To hell with streaks! I’m not writing another word for the next week.”