How Important is Self-Care for Writers?

February 12, 2020 | By Shelley Wilson | Reply More

At a recent networking event I was asked by a new writer how I managed my mental and physical health when I was locked in my writing cave for hours on end.

It was a great question and one I could thankfully answer with ease. If we rewind a couple of years I would have had to Google a suitable response for this curious writer. As a personal development and self-help author, talking (or rather writing) about this topic now comes naturally.

I’ve got over ten years’ experience working as a holistic health practitioner running my ladies only spa, and I continue to write content for Motivate Me, my award-winning personal development blog. However, acting on my own advice was always a struggle. I’m sure many of us find that offering advice to others is easy but turning that insight on ourselves is where we fall down.

It has taken time for me to start acting on my own words of wisdom and implement positive traits into my working writing day. Thinking about self-care from a writer’s point of view was therefore inevitable.

Let me begin by asking you a few questions:

Q1. Do you understand what self-care is?

Q2. Do you actively include self-care into your daily writing life?

My latest non-fiction manuscript (due for release in 2022 via my publisher) called Self-Help for the Helpless talks in more detail about self-care and what it means to us. Bubble baths and duvet days are NOT the answer (although they are enjoyable!). It was a fun book to write and even more fun to research.

Self-care, in basic terms, is the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health. As writers we spend a large portion of each day sitting at a desk, bent over a laptop, notebook, or research notes, sipping copious cups of coffee, and never speaking to another soul (unless you count the pet sat at your feet).

Understanding the importance of self-care might help you to begin actively including elements into your day.

Can you relate to any of these?

You work from home – unless you have small children running wild, an assortment of cats and dogs, or friends and family who regularly drop in for coffee and a chat it’s fair to say you could be isolated for nine or more hours. It’s worth noting that long-term isolation can lead to low self-esteem, social anxiety, and even depression.

You’re self-critical – okay, that’s pretty much a given for anyone willing to pick up a pen and write! My counsellor calls that negative inner dialogue the poisonous parrot, which helped me to see my self-criticism as something I could pet and then shut up. We all need a small portion of inner talk otherwise we would never set goals and be creative, but if we allow our criticism to manifest into phrases like ‘I’m no good at this,’ or ‘nobody will want to read my work,’ then we drain our mental strength – and as a writer that strength is pretty important!

You suffer from burnout or overwhelm – burnout is caused by excessive stress over a prolonged time. If you’ve become isolated at home and are self-critical about everything you write, this will have a negative impact on your mental health causing you to burnout. Overwhelm can be caused by the enormous to-do list we create for ourselves such as writing, editing, submitting, marketing, social media content and engagement, blogging regularly, sending emails to our subscribers, updating websites and book marketing sites, remembering to buy milk and put on clothes! Phew, I’m exhausted just writing that sentence.

How, as busy writers, can we include self-care into our daily routine without compromising our writing time?

Here are a few suggestions for you to try out and see if they work for you and your writing routine. I’d love to hear if you have any other top self-care tips so feel free to add them in the comments section below:

Write on the move – take your laptop and notes to the library, a local coffee shop, or a co-working space where you can concentrate on your WIP but don’t feel cut off and isolated because people and white noise surround you. I run an Accountability Club every month in my local area where writers at all stages of their project can come and write for three uninterrupted hours in a safe (guilt-free) space with like-minded people on hand should they need feedback. Have a look for something similar in your area and if there isn’t anything then start it up yourself.

Find some balance – as well as my non-fiction books I also write YA fantasy fiction and I’ve been known to use this as my escape from reality. It’s not always wise to blur the lines between our fictional world and our real life. With any other office job, you would leave your desk at 6pm and switch off ready to engage with family life.

As writers, we need to do the same. Yes, it can be impossible to stop the characters chatting to us when we cook the dinner, or the perfect plot twist landing in your lap as you’re working on the kid’s homework. Now and then is perfectly normal, but if you’re lost in your fictional world, then you need to find activities that reconnect you with reality.

Go for an early evening walk, visit the cinema (my favourite way to fill my creative well), meet up for a drink with friends, read, play board games, have a family dinner and stay at the table to chat instead of rushing off, or go tech free one night a week. Balance your time between writing and reality and you’ll not only feel better and more engaged, but you’ll also be more open to creativity, opportunities, and ideas.

Support your mental and physical health – we are all becoming more aware of the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle. Eat less and move more is a good mantra to live by, and as a writer, it’s never more important to get up from your desk and get your body moving at regular intervals throughout your day. I signed up for a walking challenge this year where I must walk 1000 miles before the end of the year. It’s prompted me to leave my desk more often and walk at lunchtime or close the laptop at a reasonable hour and get a good walk in while it’s still light outside.

Once the summer arrives I’m sure this challenge will be much easier to do. I’m also looking at my food habits and trying to cut down on my coffee intake. All of these ‘goals’ need a smidge of willpower as well as action, but if you keep at it, then they’ll soon become habits. When our body is stronger, less lethargic, and fully fuelled with nutritious food, it has a positive effect on our mental health.

Writing about self-care, mental health, and positivity is something I love to do, whether that’s in my books, blog posts, or guest articles. Raising awareness of how simple it can be to boost your mood, lift your spirits, and improve your day is my mission in life. As a writer I feel I have the perfect platform to help others, and as such, I hope you’ve found something helpful in this post that you can adopt in your working day.

If you want to find out more about me and my books, please feel free to visit my author blog https://shelleywilsonauthor.com/ or my book page on my publisher’s website https://www.bhcpress.com/Author_SL_Wilson

You’ll also find me on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/ShelleyWilson72 or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FantasyAuthorSLWilson

Are you interested in my personal development work?

Visit my Motivate Me site https://motivatemenow.co.uk/

Or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MotivateMeBlog

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Shelley Wilson is a writing mentor, a multi-genre author, and an award-winning blogger. She writes non-fiction self-help and young adult paranormal/fantasy fiction. In 2016 she won Most Inspirational Blogger award, and her Motivate Me blog was named as a Top 10 UK Personal Development Blog in 2018 by FeedSpot. In the same year, Shelley rushed off to Los Angeles, CA to attend a glitzy award ceremony when her YA novel was a finalist in the RONE Awards for Best YA Book of the Year.

Her first book, How I Changed My Life in a Year, was self-published in 2014 and became a best seller in self-help and women’s biographies. She signed with an American publisher in 2017.

Shelley lives in the West Midlands with her three children and a crazy black cat called Luna. Her passions (other than writing) include travel, visiting castles, Viking and Tudor history, Netflix binge-watching sessions, solo trips to the cinema, and pizza!

https://shelleywilsonwritingmentor.com/

Shelley’s latest book releases include HOOD ACADEMY, a YA novel about werewolves and a school for werewolf hunters, and MEDITATION FOR CHILDREN, a practical guide for parents and teachers to guide children (5-9 years) through the meditation process with ease.

HOOD ACADEMY – https://www.bhcpress.com/Books_Wilson_Hood_Academy.html

MEDITATION FOR CHILDREN – https://www.bhcpress.com/Books_Wilson_Meditation_For_Children.html

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