Christmas as Writer’s Burn-Out* Recovery
It’s three days before Christmas. For some of you, that means you’re bustling around and baking and taking pictures and trying to figure out how you will possibly fit a turkey and six casseroles in one oven. For others, that means you’re on the road to be with family and friends and then try to figure out the ham/casserole Tetris problem. For others, you may be like me – staying put, not cooking a lot, having a quiet few days.
If you are also like me, you are – at least in some way – grateful for these days.
I do wish I had a lot of people to spend time with these coming days. I wish Christmas Eve would be full of cooking and candles and a midnight church service. But this year, Christmas Eve will be spent in a recliner with crochet in my lap and Doctor Who on the telly. In some way, this is exactly what I need.
I am, you see, a little burnt out from the frenzy of writing and researching that has been on me the past few months. I have loved every minute of it – every blog post, every editing job, every insightful tweet, every page of historical reading – but the truth is that I have been spending most of my waking minutes for the past few months on these tasks, and I am tired. I need a break.
So for the next ten days or so, I’m going to take one. I’ll still be blogging every day, but with less intensity.
Tomorrow – my writerly holiday gift extravanganza where I suggest all the awesome things you can get or make for the writer – that may be you – in your life.
Saturday – we’ll be talking about the best and worst holiday-themed books out there.
Sunday – the winner of the 75-word “best gift you ever received” essay contest will be featured. (Contest open until midnight tomorrow.)
Then next week, following the wisdom of Jon Acuff , I will be reprising the “top hits of Andilit” in a countdown that could make Casey Casem jealous.
So Andilit will be around, but it’ll be a little less intense, a little more whimsical for the rest of this year. I hope you will stick around for the fun.
What about you? Are you feeling burnt-out, run-down, just plain tired? If so, how can you give yourself a little break during the holidays?
*This is the kind of burn-out that comes from overwork. If you’re thinking hotroads and rubber on pavement, you should be reading The Driving Farce. He writes about such things.