Learning Self-Care as a Writer

I know I've talked about this topic before, but it never hurts to get a reminder. I definitely need one right now. Self care can come in many different forms. It can be as "simple" as getting more sleep or eating better to nourish your body. But for writers, there's even more that we can do to treat our minds and bodies kindly. 

So where is this coming from? It's probably no surprise that I have high-functioning anxiety and depression. My default is to keep doing more and more things to keep myself busy so I don't have to deal with some of the nasty internal thoughts. I also deal with the feeling that I'm "not good enough" and my accomplishments mean I'm just a little bit more worthy to exist. I really wish I hadn't tied my self-worth to my writing (or my weight), but unfortunately it's happened, and I'm trying to learn to let go. I could feel myself trying to do too much again and I realized, begrudgingly, that I needed to step back. 

I just finished running the big I.O.W.A. author signing that I've written about. In the past week, I've been in a lot of physical pain due to the anxiety and tension that had built up over the months leading up to it. I have a book coming out in December that I'm still working on editing, and a few book signings on my plate. To top it off, I was considering making massive edits to my YA fantasy book, Dragon Steal, to participate in #Pitchwars later this month. All last week and part of this weekend, I could feel myself practically choking on the anxiety, and I knew that I had to make some changes. 

You see, my health has been pretty awful this year. I've gotten cellulitis four times since January, my migraines have gotten worse to a degree, I've gained weight I lost, and my sleep has suffered. Most of that I attribute to being too busy and not focusing on taking care of myself. There's always some other writing project, or work, or volunteer thing to get done. I'm terrible at staying still and resting, (and saying no), but it's come to the point that if I don't start making changes, I might not be around to do all the things I want to do. 

So, I decided that I would step back from #Pitchwars this year 1. to give myself a break and 2. to give my book the time and care that it needs. I cancelled one of my book signing events that would have equated to a 7 hr drive in one day all while I'm still trying to mend my legs from cellulitis. I'm trying to eat better foods and get more sleep, which means not working myself to the bone until 1 or 2 am to meet self-imposed deadlines. 

Living a writer's life is hard, especially with jobs and volunteer work on top of it. I think it's easy for us to stop focusing on our bodies and put our full attention to our work. Yes, sometimes when the deadlines require it, it's necessary, but at other times, we need to remember to breathe and take care of our bodies and minds. Depression and anxiety are both so common among writers because many of us tie our self-worth to our writing. So what can we do to break away from that? 

I don't have the answers, but I implore you to take some time and reflect on your own self care. Here are just a few ideas to try if you're pushing yourself too hard. 

• Take a break. Your book will still be there when you come back to it.

• Make sure you're getting enough sleep, if not for your health, then to help your mind stay awake and creative.

• Don't create unnecessary deadlines for yourself. Focus on what projects are important, and go from there. You don't have to participate in every writing contest.

• Make meals for yourself. Living off of fast food sucks.

• Give yourself a real vacation. Taking days off just to focus on writing isn't a vacation, it's work.

• Find other hobbies outside of writing that make you happy (I play PokemonGo).

• Snuggle with a pet. They need love too.

• Remind yourself that your worth is not dependent on your book.

• Stop and smell the flowers. Enjoy the little things in life that are so easy to neglect.

• Meditate.

Have any other self-care tips? Feel free to post them below. And remember, you are not alone in this. We all struggle with self care and self love. I believe in you. 

How to Steal Writing Time From a Busy Schedule

In this crazy world called life, it's often hard to find time to sit down and write. Between work, families, extra-curricular activities, shopping, adulting, etc, when are we supposed to work on our books? Many people say they have stories in their head but no time to put them on paper. I can sympathize, really. I'm usually running around from 8am-8 or 9 pm depending on the day, which leaves only a couple hours to get things done.

So what do you do? How do you steal some time from your busy schedule so you can create your masterpiece?

• Meeting: Set aside a half hour or hour on certain nights and treat it like you would a work meeting or an appointment. If friends, or work, try to schedule things at that time, calmly explain you have a meeting that you can't miss. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll be at adapting to the new schedule. It could be once a week or several times a week. Either way, it gives you time when you know you can work.

• Spurts or Sprints: I learned this little trick during NaNoWriMo. You set 10-15 minutes aside, turn off all distractions, and write whatever comes to your mind. Don't worry about editing or going back to research, just write. Friends of mine and I will hold sprints to see who can write the most in that time frame. It's a fun little challenge, and it forces you to get text on paper. Likewise, if you find yourself with 10 minutes to spare, use that time to type on your phone or computer, or write in a journal that you bring along. Even if you don't get a lot out, it may get your mind moving so you'll be ready to work on your book that night.

• Record: How many hours do we spend in the car traveling from place to place? How many times have you been in the shower and gotten a great idea but couldn't write it down? Record yourself. I've been on road trips and clicked 'record' on my phone and rattled off scenes and story ideas. Even if they're not directly on paper at that moment, at least I got the idea out of my head and didn't lose it. There are also speech-to-text programs like Dragon Speech that will record you and type what you say. It takes some getting used to, but it works great if you're doing dishes or some other task and want to still get the words out.

• Change Sleep Time: Now, I wouldn't recommend this if you have insomnia or sleep trouble, but, if you can safely wake up a half hour early or go to bed a half hour later, you can use that extra time to get work done. One of my friends gets all of her writing done between like 5 and 6 am when she's not being disturbed by anyone. Can you do that too?

• Lunch Hour: If you get a lunch break at work, that might be a great time to work on writing. Right now, I'm munching on a sandwich and writing this blog entry because I was too tired to write it last night. I still get a break from work, but I'm also being productive with my own craft. But, if you fear you'll get burnt out, make sure you still take that break.

• Competitions/Deadlines: Maybe you want to try to push yourself to write because there's an anthology deadline out there, or a writing contest. I might not write for three months because I know that in November, I'm going to spend 30 days writing for National Novel Writing Month. I pour out 50,000 words, taking more time for my craft that month than usual, because I know it's only going to last a month. If you set goals for yourself, it might encourage you to find time during a busy schedule.

Whatever you decide to do to get writing time in, remember a couple of things:

1. You don't have to write everyday.

2. Take care of yourself. If you're burning yourself out writing, you're not going to enjoy it as much.

3. Make sure you're still getting downtime for yourself.

4. Have fun.

Do you have ways that you fit in writing? Share them below!

Finding Writing Contests

Whether you're a poet, short story writer, a novelist, etc, I'm sure most of you have submitted your work to a writing contest at some point in your life. Contests can come in many shapes and forms. They might be for large anthologies to help you get your name out there. Some may pay royalties to their authors. Others have big cash prizes. And some pay nothing, but at least you get the bragging rights. The things I hear most writers say is that they don't know where to submit their work or where to start looking, or how to prepare their piece. 

First off, here are few of the common places I visit to find writing contests/opportunities: 

• Submittable: This is a submission engine as well as a place where sites compile contests that are available. More and more sites are using submittable as a way for authors to send in their work. Once you enter your information once, it's usually there for you to use again. What's great is you can track what pieces you've sent in, where they are in the process, and which pieces have been accepted or rejected. There's a messaging system too so you can contact the contest site if you have questions. Once you sign up and indicate your genre interests, it you can also look up available contests through the system.

• Poets & Writers: This site is great because not only does it provide helpful writing tips, it also frequently updates contests or submission opportunities. You can filter it depending on entry fee, genre, deadline, etc. So if you're only interested in poetry, you can just select the poetry category. Or if you don't want to pay for an entry, you can filter out all of the contests that cost money.

• Writer's Digest: Writer's Digest hosts a lot of writing contests each year. They also list other contests/events that are going around, so keep checking in for the newest and greatest stuff. Like Poets & Writers, Writer's Digest provides helpful literary tips as you're prepping to submit your material.

• Jerry Jenkins: Jerry Jenkins lists contests that are going on throughout the year and it gets updated every year. What I like the most about it is that it'll provide a link directly to the contest so you don't have to go looking for it.

• The Write Life: I like this website a lot. They provide 31 free writing contests that have cash prizes. So if you're looking to make some money for your writing, this may be the route to go.

These are just a few sites to get you started. If you're looking for a particular genre, you might have to dig a little deeper into the internet to find the right contest for you. 

As you prep your piece for submission, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

• Read the Guidelines: Whatever contest you enter, it is vital you read their guidelines. They might have very particular ways that they want you to submit your piece (font, size, single vs double-spaced, etc). If you don't do as they request, they may disqualify you without even reading your piece. Get it in on time, and if any of the directions are confusing, be sure to e-mail them and ask for clarification.

• Stay on Topic: If you enter a contest that has a particular theme, make sure you're submitting a piece that works. If the theme is "Aliens in Space," don't give them a contemporary romance or paranormal entry. Stay as close to the topic as possible.

• Word Count: When contests give max and min word counts, you need to stick to them. Even if your entry is 5001 words and the max is 5000, that one word can still get you disqualified. Again, stick to the guidelines.

• Review Other Published Pieces: Some sites will have previous anthologies available for your to peruse. If you have the opportunity, read through some of their pieces to see if your work seems to fit in. If the magazine/anthology is completely different from your realm of work, you might consider submitting somewhere else.

• Make Sure the Contest is Legitimate: There are many contests out there that will gladly take an author's money and not do anything with the contest or will scam the writer. Make sure they've published other pieces before, they have a history, and the information on their site is spelled correctly. I know that last one might sound odd, but a lot of scam sites will have misspellings, which would seem odd if they're running a writing contest.

• Don't Harass the Judges: When you submit a piece, don't e-mail the judges or the site owners repeatedly to find out the status of your piece (unless it's to notify them that your work was published somewhere else). The more you pester, the more likely it is your piece will be dropped. It takes time to review the work, choose the right pieces, and prep them for publication on paper or on site. Be patient. Generally "no news" is good news because it means you haven't been rejected yet.

I hope this helps you as you look for places to submit your work. If you have other tips or sites people should check out, feel free to post them below! 

Happy Writing!