How to Take an Editing Break

In light of conference season coming to a close, I thought I’d take a moment and deviate from my normal self-editing blog post style and chat about a topic that I’ve been hearing a lot of writers discussing recently.

Stress and burnout.

Everyone in any creative field faces this fear factor at least once in their lives. Oh? More than once? Okay, you’re right about that.

This happened to me this past July when I was slammed with a mountain of projects in my daytime joy-job as a full-time editor, while trying to edit my own historical fiction novel in the evenings. The exhaustion from it all set me back in so many ways—I couldn’t even believe how many ways: emotionally, physically, mentally… I’m not out of the woods yet, but things have slowed down a bit since.

Please don’t misunderstand. I absolutely love both editing and writing and wouldn’t dream of doing anything else, but sometimes too much is too much.

So that’s when I began to really pray that God would be my ultimate strength because I didn’t think I could keep going if God didn’t meet me right where I was, flailing and fearing the whole ship was going down. Guess what? Much to my human surprise, he met me—and kept me in the palm of his hand. Was I still tired? You betcha. Did I still have to push through crazy deadlines stacked on top of each other? Yep. But God supplied the strength and energy. And looking back, I don’t know exactly how I got through it. But I know God did.

All that said, there are times when you have to set aside the things that aren’t pressing, that don’t totally need your attention. If you have to set aside the writing to care for yourself, please do, and try these few things to get relief from the never-ending deadlines and project stress:

• Go to bed early. I know, I know, we are creatures of the night, but surprisingly, I found this helpful three nights in a row, and it increased my productivity.
• Watch a movie. If you’re on Amazon, the British mystery series Endeavour is riveting—I’ve learned lots about characterization and plot just by binge watching!
• Listen to an encouraging podcast (there’s some great ones on Novel Marketing and Write NOW!)
• Go exploring. You never know what inspiration will energize you!

Above all, God knows exactly what you need, and he will meet you right where you are.

Please take a minute and join in the discussion! I’d love to hear from you! What’s been the best non-editing vacation for you?

BIO

Tisha Martin is a writer and editor, and she lives to encourage authors and editors to bridge their relationships and work together for the publishing industry cause, where readers will treasure books for always. With a bachelor’s in Professional Writing, a master’s in English Education, and an editing certificate from the PEN Institute, she has equal passions for writing and editing. Active in ACFW and The PEN, she appreciates both communities. She is the former Assistant Director of PENCON, a conference for professional editors. She’s also a judge for Writer’s Digest. When she’s not editing, Tisha blogs about writing, editing, theater, horses, and American home front history at www.tishamartin.com. She looks forward to the conversation with you!