Writing Fatigue: A Way Out

Written by Elijah Gamble

As a senior undergraduate rhetoric major, I feel like school takes a lot from me sometimes. Not to mention I also work in a writing center where it is my job to ingest and critique pages of content. One of the leisures school has taken from me is the joy of reading and the release of writing. (That is not to say I do not love my job because I do). To read for me in the past was to liberate myself from the confines of reality and into the realm of deep imagination; to read for me now is to dissect, to identify, to bind the world and the many perceptions of it into a linguistic code. By the same token, writing for me in the past was to record my imagination, my laughter, my story into something of my own creation and done by my own volition. Similar to my present experience with reading, writing can now feel like a chore of a madman’s making.

Lately, however, I have tried branching out of my routine-generated comfort zone. Over the summer I participated in a poetry workshop via Zoom. There, I rediscovered some of the bliss of reading and writing. The workshop provided me with a low-stakes zone where reading and writing was not required but encouraged, shared, spoken, loved, imagined, experienced, and most of all, lived— not only by me but by others as well. I was allowed access to a platform that I had been denying myself for years.

I found myself perplexed by my former inability to access a portion of myself that had seemed so vital to my existence in the past. Then, I found myself questioning why I even needed permission, from someone else no less, to revisit my long lost loves. Being able to capture reading and writing in a whole new light once again made me realize that I could also apply my reunion to my academic and professional life.

Consequently, this rediscovery of mine reignited my passion for my major and my field of study. The exposure that the workshop provided me with helped me realign my focus. I tried implementing new reading habits and new writing habits in my personal writing. I did the same with my academic and professional writing. I feel as if I have recovered a bit from the reading and writing fatigue I had been experiencing and was able to read a new novel cover-to-cover, for myself and myself only, like I used to when I was younger. Reading and writing for class and work seem less like a chore and more like a hobby. I was not expecting to gain so much from stepping out of my comfort zone, but what I gained was well worth the discomfort the journey to rediscovery caused me.

TL;DR I went to a poetry workshop and found my love for literature and composition again. I recovered from a terrible case of writing fatigue and burnout.

Top 5 Books on Writing

Written by Daniel Stefanelli

There’s no one formula for how to be a writer. Some people listen to music while they write, while others work in complete silence; some write at night and others in the morning; some people find writing poetry comes naturally, but others can’t get past “roses are red/ violets are blue . . .”

But there is one thing that all great writers seem to have in common: they read.

Reading is an essential tool for anyone who’s serious about improving their writing. Not only can reading be a powerful source of inspiration, but it can also help us learn and develop as writers.

Why? Well, when we read we can learn to recognize what works and what doesn’t in other people’s writing. We begin to internalize different styles and sentence structures. And, with a little practice, we can learn to ask questions about why an author chose to write their work the way they did. It’s a process we sometimes call “meta cognition” (literally: thinking about thinking) and some scholars of writing have suggested that its a key skill in learning how to be a better writer. It helps you move from wondering what you should say in your essay to thinking about how you should say it. Meta cognition is thought to be so important that some writing teachers are developing curricula based around the idea of “writing about writing.”

The good news is reading anything can be beneficial to your writing, but if you’re serious about the “meta” part of meta cognition, consider reading books about writing. Here are some of my favorite books about writing to help you get started:

1 – On Writing Well by William Zinsser

William Zinsser was a renowned journalist and writing professor. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction offers tips on the fundamentals of writing prose with Zinsser’s characteristic clarity and warmth. If you’d like to learn more about writing nonfiction but aren’t sure where to start, you can’t go wrong with this classic best-seller.

2 – How to Write a Lot by Paul J. Silvia

Are you the kind of writer who struggles with deadlines? If you’re no stranger to all-nighters, then How to Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing can change your life. Funny and encouraging, Silvia has tips for writers of all levels to master productivity and make procrastination a thing of the past. This book is especially helpful for graduate students and anyone interested in publishing their work.

3 – On Writing by Stephen King

You probably know Stephen King for his seemingly endless list of best-selling horror novels, but this memoir is every bit as entertaining. Readers get a first-hand account of King’s rags-to-riches story while learning tips and tricks from one of the most celebrated novelists of a generation. Keep in mind, this is Stephen King we’re talking about, so be prepared for some adult language!

4 – Becoming an Academic Writer by Patricia Goodson

This is the closest thing I’ve found to a complete guide to improving your academic writing. Not only does Goodson share current research from writing education in simple, accessible language, but the book also contains more than fifty exercises for practicing every aspect of academic writing. Learn how to manage your time, master academic genres, and even strengthen your academic vocabulary all with simple exercises you can do at your own pace. It’s like a Write Site tutor you can carry in your backpack!

5 – The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

If you’ve never read anything by Annie Dillard, you’ve been missing out. The Pulitzer prize winner has published breathtakingly beautiful collections of poetry, memoir, and non-fiction essays. The Writing Life is a collection of short essays that will change the way you think about writing forever––and introduce you to what might be your new favorite author.