College students have to handle a lot, and there’s no arguing that. Apart from endless assignments and midterms, one also has to take care of their social life and not forget about mental health. And if that wasn’t enough, some even find time for hobbies like writing.
In this article, we will talk about how to avoid burnout and writer’s block, all while staying afloat with your studies. If you’re interested, just keep on reading!
Why Write at All?
Writing can be extremely useful for one’s mental health. It can help you process your emotions better simply by giving you some time alone with your thoughts. However, for many students, writing is more of a chore than a healthy habit.
If you feel like that, too, we recommend seeking help with academics from reliable services like EssayPro or similar platforms. Then, once you get rid of some pressing issues, you can get to actually pleasurable things. Let’s get to the tips on how to find inspiration among daily routines.
Develop Habits
People tend to think that habits are boring and leave no room for creativity and spontaneous decisions. However, that could not be further from the truth. A habit is an action that does not require thinking. That’s why the more habits you develop, the more time you will have left for creativity.
Developing any habit, and of writing in particular, is not actually that hard. The easiest way to do that is to determine the exact time and place for the habit to grow.
Write down a specific list like that, “I will write on Tuesdays and Thursdays after I’ve had my lunch.” And then, once a habit has been developed, your brain will be trained to get into the creative zone every set day after lunch.
Don’t Stare at the Blank Screen
The fear of a white sheet of paper (or screen) is what makes a lot of young writers quit. So don’t succumb to it! Just start writing!
Devise an outline, a plan, start brainstorming some ideas, and before you notice it, you will have yourself a whole page of content.
Even if the whole hour of work ends up being completely worthless, it will still be beneficial. Because next time when you start, you will have more ideas about what you like and what you don’t like.
Change the Scenery
If you want to do something unusual, go somewhere unusual. Our brains are conditioned to remember triggers and react the same way when something that has already happened does so again.
And that’s why if the last time you started writing nothing came to your mind, you are likely to not write anything in the same spot the next day.
When you go to a different place, like a park or a cafe, you see a new landscape, and your brain doesn’t automatically behave the same way it did last time. Creativity is all about tricking yourself into doing new things.
So, the next time you want to write, pick up your laptop and go to the nearest park bench. A new experience is guaranteed!
Limit Yourself
No, this is not about limiting your creativity or tying your own hands. It’s about choosing a specific topic. If you don’t know what you want your novel to be about, you are likely to never finish it. Choose a specific topic, write a plan, come up with a conflict, and develop your characters first.
After you get that done, you can move on to developing your plot and enriching it with details. Think of your novel as if it was a tree. Your outline is the trunk, the plot can resemble the branches, and all the details stand for leaves and flowers. Grow it little by little, and remember, it takes patience.
Start From the End
This is a tip that many established writers use. Think about how you would tell a funny story to your friend. You already know how it ended, right?
That’s why you can tweak it, add details to it and then take it to the culmination. Writing a novel works the same way. Unless you know how it’s going to end, your mind will wander, and again, your masterpiece might never see the light.
Believe in Yourself
Sure, this tip does not necessarily tell you anything about how to juggle academics with a writing hobby or how to craft your own novel.
Yet, if you don’t believe in yourself, all the tips above might as well be rendered useless. Self-doubt is normal; we all can sometimes feel that way.
Still, your writing journey is about overcoming fears and uncertainty, gaining confidence along the way.
Wrapping Up
Managing studies with work or hobbies is not easy, especially in these turbulent times. But everyone needs some alone time to rest and collect one’s thoughts.
Writing a novel is an amazing way to give your mind a break from the constant worries. Next time you feel overwhelmed, turn on some relaxing instrumental music, and get writing!
A very nice article