Self-Care Tips for Writers!
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- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
- let’s chat about taking care of yourself as a creative person! self-care can look different and mean very different things for different people, but these are some principles that have helped me keep a healthier balance and relationship with my writing.
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☾Barefoot - The Fiddlehead [print only]: thefiddlehead.ca/issue/282
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☾Wishbone - video reading: vimeo.com/420052282
☾Cherry and Jane in the Garden of Eden - The Puritan: puritan-magazine.com/cherry-an...
☾Hold Me Under Till I See the Light - The New Quarterly: tnq.ca/story/hold-me-under-ti...
☾Beautiful Animal - Room: roommagazine.com/issues/twine
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
1:11 - Prioritizing your wellbeing
3:04 - Don't follow writers who make you feel bad
4:35 - Get feedback in safe ways
9:30 - Take care reading reviews
10:56 - Do tasks you procrastinate with writing first
12:14 - Write in the way that works for you
14:31 - Remove practices that don't work for you
15:04 - Using rewards
16:25 - Take breaks when you need them
17:29 - Don't tie unhealthy habits to writing
18:25 - Be open to others' processes
MORE WRITING TIPS: • Writing Tips
WRITING VLOGS: • Writing Vlogs
WRITING CHATS & DISCUSSIONS: • Writing & Authortube D...
BOOK REVIEWS: • Recent Reads
Check out more writing and publishing videos from me over @Reedsy!: / @reedsy
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Twitter: / shaelinbishop
Instagram: / shaelinbishop
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My heart goes out to the victims and their families of the shooting in Atlanta earlier this week, and to all my Asian viewers and the entire Asian community, my heart is with you for all the grief and fear you are feeling. Soon Park, Suncha Kim, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Hyun-jeong Park Grant, and Yong Yue all deserved full and beautiful lives and instead were killed in this horrible and hateful act of violence. Here is an article that memorializes the victims. Let us remember them and work to stop Asian hate. www.thecut.com/2021/03/atlanta-spa-shooting-victims-what-we-know.html
Here is a gofund me to support the family of Delaina Yaun: www.gofundme.com/f/funds-for-delaina-yaun-family
Here is a gofundme to support the family of Hyun-jeong Park Grant: www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-hyunjungkim-to-support-my-brother-i
Here is a gofundme to support the family of Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, who survived but is in critical care: www.gofundme.com/f/help-elcias-hernandez-ortiz-cover-medical-bills
You can also support the following organizations:
Stop AAPI Hate: stopaapihate.org
Red Canary Song: www.redcanarysong.net
Butterfly: www.butterflysw.org
Swan Vancouver: www.swanvancouver.ca
I haven’t been able to find gofundmes or direct ways to support the families of the other victims, but if you know of any, please comment them below so I can add them here. Take care everyone.
🙏🖤
I'm Asian but I live in England
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much. I am grateful for all of your respect. I am Asian and I hope discrimination against us will soon cease to be.
I'm relieved to see you promote such goodness. It has pained me to see such things happen in the so called, “Land of the Free”, yet they kill their diverse individuals who make The US, the US. Who bring flavor to any country. I hope for change. I hope for all along the spectrum, and the African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans out there.
What I like about your channel is that the underlying philosophy is that creativity is about what you write not how much you write. There’s too much emphasis on productivity and schedules in the writing community.
I've experimented with Brandon Sanderson's writing routine, writing from 10PM to 2PM and I must say it worked quite well. At night, everyone's asleep, so there are no sudden disruptions or people that suddenly require my attention. I really liked that. However, it didn't work well on days I needed to be up early or wanted to spend time with family in the afternoon. Most other people don't have a schedule like this, so it's hard to constantly have to adjust from a night schedule to a day schedule. Plus, I'm a highly sensitive introvert, so if I had a busy day I tend to need time to process everything that happened in the evening/at night and that really halts my writing flow.
I'd say one of the most important things to learn as a writer is whether you write best in the morning, afternoon, or at night. Figuring that out early makes things go so much smoother.
Such a nice topic to talk about. I think all artist should take self care seriously.
Your writing process is not correlated to your end product.
THIS. YES. This reminded me of the quote that I encountered when I was studying programming late last year, and thought that this pretty much applies to everything we do.
“Let not the fruit of action be your motive to action. Your business is with action alone, not with the fruit of action.” - Bhagavad Gita
Thank you for this video and for the reminder.
The bit about feedback really makes sense and it wasn't something i've ever thought about
My high school creative writing class forced us to share our writing out loud. That experience really hurt my desire to share my work at all because i either a) felt like my writing wasn't as good as my classmates, or b) felt pressured to write something perfect that Everyone would like.
I guess writing in anticipation of showing it to others or showing your work because you feel pressured to can really hurt your writing process.
I also had experiences like that in high school and found them really uncomfortable. To me, it also discouraged me from writing anything personal because I knew I'd have to share it.
I used to write late at night, coffee in hand. Then I got to college and realized I needed to deal with a sleep disorder that I'd kind of just been... Ignoring all my life. (The sleep disorder is neurological -- not caused by the caffeine or the writing. Just worsened.) Problem was I couldn't write without caffeine. I still can't, being honest, and I've cut my caffeine intake down so drastically. So I had to rework my entire writing routine to be first thing in the morning. Still have my coffee (it's my _only_ caffeine of the day) but it's in a way that doesn't exacerbate my sleep disorder. If anything, it gives me a reason to get up on schedule in the morning, which is one of the strongest tools I have against insomnia.
It was definitely hard to reprogram my "night owl" brain to work well in the morning, but once I'd done that, it was super rewarding. Been five or six years now since I did that, and now if I try to write past 5pm, my brain is just like "How do I.... Make a sentence.... Exactly?" I guess what I'm saying is that your brain is probably more flexible than you think, if your writing habits are unhealthy for you. It just takes time to relearn something healthier.
I'm so glad you covered this topic. It's so important. My attitude is that I'm willing to risk failure with my creative pursuits, but I'm not willing to risk my well-being
It's for the first time that a video of this kind has made me feel seen and heard. I've started posting about my writing online and sometimes, I feel pressured, so this video was a necessary reminder. Thank you so much for sharing your tips.
I totally relate to that pressure! So much of my self care is drawing boundaries about how I interact online so my art stays for me, rather than something I do because of pressure. But it can be really hard and I think being involved in online spaces adds a whole other layer!
Making your writing process work for you has really helped me. I thought I couldn't be a writer because I used the "wrong" process when I wrote, but now I know that's fine. I'm still struggling a bit with ignoring tactics that I know don't work for me. Everyone is different! Thanks for driving this message home, Shaelin!
Great topics, and so important. Another thing that I do is stop trying to rush the publication process. I don't need to be published to be happy. Be happy first, and then publication will be a bonus. Happiness will not be found behind publication, but in process.
I really needed this! As a writing student ~struggling in the pandemic, this advice is GOLD 🙏🏽
Shaelin, I cannot tell you how much I needed this video. It often feels impossible to prioritize self care when I have to balance my writing career alongside my schoolwork. When the words are not flowing in a manuscript, taking a break or going to sleep is magical. After waking up from an hour of rest, the process of writing can feel easier and less stressful. It is important to realize that we write for ourselves. The reader is a part of the experience, but we need to create for ourselves before fretting over pleasing readers. Another thing that helps me is to consider all writing as writing. Anything I write on the page, beautiful or horrible, should be considered writing. If I feel like reading a book one day instead of actively working on my writing, I should feel free to do so. I have taken a long break from reading to focus on writing only to realize that it was not working. Often times when I am writing on deadline or writing obsessively, I don’t tend to read as much. However, the quality of my writing is affected negatively if I prohibit myself from reading. This video was a comfort and made me realize that I can take my time with writing and follow my instincts. I can take breaks when writing becomes overwhelming or simply to celebrate my writing achievements. I am getting rejection letters, one after the other, and acceptance letters are rare compared to all of my other mail. I must remember that I am writing for the sake of writing and for my own happiness, not for publication. I love you
About the block and unfollow point you made: if the creator making you feel bad or weird etc about your writing, but they haven’t actually done something wrong or bad. Unfollow/block them anyway, your feelings are valid and you are not a bad person.
always make sure that you are having fun.
the reason that most delve into the craft of fiction is because there is stimulus from being able to tell stories. It is a feeling a joy, and pursuing publication through stringent writing schedules can turn art into a burden instead of a place of solace.
take sundays off if you are being consumed by work. Time management is incredibly important when becoming the best writer you can be. 10 push ups a day over 7 days is more effective than 100 push ups on a single day. If you have a schedule that is healthy, and optimized, and enjoyable then you are amazing.
If you can turn pro, and are given the chance to compete against other titles, you must block out the disturbia.
You must continue to have fun, and you must continue to care for yourself.
Have thick skin, and be able to shrug off things that are disturbing, it will lead to continued success.
Thank you for this video, it's something that a lot of people tend to forget.
One thing that resonated with me is when you said you don't owe anybody anything, especially when it comes to readers. I had a comment recently where somebody was demanding a chapter, and it made me feel not so great.
I deleted that comment because in the end, it serves nobody, but now I would gladly tell that person that we writers don't owe anything to people like that.
my favourite writing channel on youtube
As a new writer I used to feel alot of pressure to write a novel straight away, and I realised that this isn't the best way to start for everyone. I have progressed well by starting with flash fiction, then short stories, then novellas. I am now (after 16 months) approaching being able to write longer novellas and am enjoying the journey. So my bottom line is... don't feel pressured to write a novel! There are other worthy story forms and they each have their own challenges. The novel will come one day, when I am experienced enough...
I think the hard part for me has been finding someone that is willing to give constructive feedback. Most of my friends that read my writing didn’t know how improved it. It must just be me but getting the negative feedback does help me see the flaws. Plus when the writing works, those people who had given negative feedback, I feel their praise is more genuine than someone that spares my feelings. Now, I have had classmates who didn’t like me in class and they would criticized everything in my story even if it was just nitpick. I would still read their criticism but ignore minor issues that weren’t brought up by the others in the class.
The main problem that I have right now is having the mental energy to want to write. It will sound like an excuse but changes at work have put more stress on me where I am mentally tired. Sundays are usually the only day I don’t have to work. It is hard to sit in front of computer on the only day that I have for rest right now. I am hoping things will settle down. Right now, my plan is to spend an hour on Sunday to write or edit my work. If that hour becomes more then that is just wonderful.
I do enjoy your videos because it is great to hear how other writers balance life and their art. I do missed the support of the writing group that I had for a few years. We would spend time editing, balancing ideas and offering advice living as writer. Your videos give me a little bit of that group which has been missing. Thank you.
this came at a really good time for me. i think sometimes i watch other people’s videos or read writing advice and can get overwhelmed thinking my process is somehow “wrong” or not good enough. like you said, everyone’s got their own process that works for them and there’s nothing wrong with that :)
Your message of doing what works for you no matter what always feels like fresh air. No shade to any authortubers out there, but the rigid guidelines I was caught in did not help my writing very much.
the rigid guidelines were also suchhh a drain on me for such a long time which is why I really actively started talking about this! I feel like I struggled in my process for years because I was trying to write 'the right' way but it was not at all the right way for me.
I love how real you got when saying « don’t do what doesn’t work for you! You want to outline? Please outline! You don’t want to outline? Please don’t outline! » 😅
This video really hit home thank you!!! I never really thought about how much pressure really came from outside opinions on writing habits / processes - until giving permission to not give a duck about it really freed my mental space. Thank you! Great tips.
I'm very grateful for this video, thank you.
This was a nice video to watch.
I feel like I’m not writing enough cuz I notice a lot of people write for hours and hours and I barely ever write an hour so it’s nice to hear someone to say it’s okay. :)
I so appreciate your honesty and your willingness to share.
As always, you are a positive beam of sunshine for the writing community. Thank you for your work! ☀
Thank you for this video, I think a lot of writers could benefit from self care. Especially this year, when it's not always easy.
Hey Shaelin, great video.
I totally agree with what you said and that everybody should work as they feel comfortable.
However, I kinda feel bad about myself, because I tend to write everyday, but only for, like 20-30 minutes. I always feel weird when people say that they work for more than that on a book because I just sit there and write like 900-1000 words in those 20-30 mins. And i don't know if I'm just really fast or not but sometimes I feel like I'm not really writing correctly or if I'm not putting enoug thought into my words or something like that.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wanna know if it's normal to write that fast, since you said that you work a long time when you get on a roll. And I just can't imagine that happening for me, since that would mean that I'd write like 5000-10000 words in a day, which would get me burnt out and make my writing bad (not saying it can't work for anyone).
Idk I just feel like I'm "cheating" and, since I'm struggling with impostor syndrome a lot, that I'm not really a writer.
I think that is 100% normal! But it's also normal in the sense that, pretty much any way of writing is normal. Some people write a lot in quick bursts, others write for longer periods of time. It just depends on what's natural for you and there's nothing wrong with it! You're certainly not cheating or not a real writer!
Thanks for this video! I’m so excited to see this! Like the fact that there’s a video just bout it. Also yes! Prioritising yourself is important ❤️
I love that you took the time to talk about this
Thank you for saying there are other ways of getting feedback other than beta readers....makes me feel so much better!
You’re very authentic and insightful Shaelin. I get so much out of your videos. Thank you! :)
Hey, I have a suggestion: please start a Discord server so people can come together and talk directly. So many people don't have writer friends for taking feedbacks so having a community of writers might help everyone. If not, we can just come together and talk (more like rant) about writing 😅
Thank you for making this video! It was super helpful! Have a great day!
The level of truth in this video! 👏🏻👌🏻❤️ People, never let anyone tell you that your process is wrong if it works for you 💕 I hate it when plotters say that it’s wrong to be a pantser and that an outline is God, or pantsers say that plotting ruins creativity. Hey, I’m a little of both, at it works for me! What made my process not work for me back in the day was trying to fit into other peoples "rules." There is no one right way to be creative 🙋🏻♀️
Wonderful video! I really needed this right now.
DUDE YOU JUST LITERALLY DESCRIBED ME!!! I JUST DRINK COFFEE AND WHISKEY AND SMOKE WEED AND IM UNEMPLOYED AND I LOVE IIIIITTT!! JACK STONE BABY.
LOVE this, thanks for inspiring me to start my own channel!
I loved this video! I normally torture myself watching every writing craft video and trying to follow methods and rules and I get so frustrated when I fail at them lol
Oh gosh this is so real - I 100% used to do this and it made me so tough on my writing unnecessarily. Clearing all those voices out of my writing process really helped!
@@ShaelinWrites YESS thank you so much for making this video for self-care and writing♥️♥️
rly needed this, thank u!
Thank you for your very helpful! You have really helped me xx
Brilliant video. Thanks so much for the inspiration 🙏
showing an accurate and deep understanding; great perceptive. 💡
Muito obrigado for all the insightful information. 🤝
The best writting channel does ❤
Thank you for your videos, I just discovered you and I love all the great messages you are sending :)
Reassuring to relate to your writing experiences - cheers for sharing :)
Very timely. Thank you!
Thank you. This is very helpful.
The advice you gave sounds like holistic writing advice😊not sure if that's a thing
This is a really great idea for a video.
Thank you for this video
i love your shirt!
Good topic!
I wrote a poem
Shaelin is a queen
If there's a new video of hers
Yes, I'm in
😂😂
Ahahahaha i absolutely adore your videos and how you respect art as a subjective matter✨
I have not written ANYTHING in 2021. And I feel sooo bad because of it. But like... I have such major exams coming up back to back in April May and June there is no reason for me to write now AT ALL. But just the fact "I haven't written anything *2021*" makes me feel 😃👍
Literally so valid! I had a similarly very bad writing slump in 2020 and even though I knew it was okay, it really sucked at the the time. My video next week is on writing slumps so I hope it will be able to help!
@@ShaelinWrites Will look forward to it 🖤
this stuff is so important to me
I know this video wasn’t directed towards neurodivergent people in particular, but as someone with ADHD and autism, and constantly sees advice geared towards neurotypical people that gets labeled as the “right” way to write... I needed this. Especially when a lot of NT writers will shame the way I write, because it isn’t how they think I should write.
Different things work for different people, and there are many circumstances where things that work for one author don’t work for another author, and I don’t think a lot of writers think of things like that when they are giving advice and shaming other writers.
The fact that so much common writing advice completely ignores neurodivergent people is one of the main reasons I have such an issue with the idea there is a 'right' and 'wrong' way to write! This idea seems to be under the assumption that everyone will have the best results if they write in this certain way, but everyone is different so why would we all have the same needs in terms of artistic process?
Schedule yourself in - applies to everything
Hello Shaelin, have you done a video on sentence starters? Only I seem to be starting the sentence a lot with, When, The, Once and As. Could you do one on that subject, only reading my second draft seems rubbish.
thanks
I've cried a little during feedback.
Nice 👍🙂
Pleeeeeaaaase can you do a video on how to write a strong female character and an adventure story. Iv been suggesting it on this and reedsy for YEARS now.
I cover your question on strong female characters in my upcoming Q&A! (though the answer is pretty simple: write a character who is a woman and give her an interesting and developed personality!) Unfortunately I have no background or experience writing adventure stories so it's not really a genre I'd feel comfortable covering.
@@ShaelinWrites oh, okay that's fine. Thank you!
5:05 and here's me who has no writer friends to take feedback from 🙃
You’re not alone 🙂🙃
@@Mary-dj2le Solidarity in our mutual loneliness
@@rev6215 it’s kinda sad , though 😶
@@Mary-dj2le I just lack the networking skills to join a writing community. Most of my friends are artists- like they draw. I just don't have any friends I have shared interest with. Like I like to play chess and none of my friends play it.
@@rev6215 I know how that feels . English isn’t my first language and I don’t live in a place where people talk English but for me it’s easier to write in English . I know a couple of friends that are kind of into writing but they don’t write in English . The rest of my friends doesn’t have much interest in writing or reading for the matter . So , that’s why I can’t find someone to take feedback from .
That shirt is fire.
Do you have advice for finding good workshops outside of university?
Great video. Thank you for this. But I only have one question. How the hell do you get feedback? I can't afford beta readers, especially as I need enough readers to get a wider opinion of what's good and what's not. Pretty much everyone I know either doesn't read or won't read my book. Or promise to read and then don't.
what if there's a way to have writers to do what is needed for their routine
How do I get a story published in a literary journal?
Check out my video on submitting stories to literary magazines !
I am living India ❤️
This video made me lol lol
I'm early?
One of the things I've been very careful NOT to do is tie writing to alcohol.
I can go write 2000 words in 3 hours but I get really tired after that
When it comes to writing a sex scene this is where I become stuck. The only thing i now about sex is it comes after five.
(UK)
Wow. But also question. Did anyone get the number of that bus that hit us? Also I'm being told your crazy, you miss having crazed fans try to run you down, and then that you would be the type to blank some crazed groupie fan... Fan hoping ,
Thats the stereotype of a writer!?
For me the stereotype is someone who spends half their free time on twitter, a quarter reading vampire books and gushing over a certain popular middle grade book of their youth, and another quarter working on their youtube channel or watching netflix.
Oh, I had a bad time being a beta reviewer.
I regret being seduced by that image of the drunken writer. It cost me a lot in many different ways. Even if you are wildly successful and write sterling prose, alcohol and drugs can still ruin your life. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote wonderfully, and he enjoyed great acclaim, but he was miserable. They say it was almost impossible to like him. Hemingway was a big drinker too, and he blew his brains out in his early sixties. Shaelin is right. Take care of yourself. There are numerous examples of great writers being totally miserable people. They didn't lead happy lives.
I highly doubt Stephen King's mother paid for his rent....
Stephen King is not who I was talking about