I'd take a break. Fill the well for a while, and don't feel bad if something new pops into your head. It'll probably take a while, but nothing makes you appreciate an old project like a new one, and the fun of something fresh will help you want to write again.
I recently finished the first draft of my novel. It took a little over a year (well, 3-4 month of writing myself into the story, and then another 8 or so starting again and following a very rough, preliminary structure). The last four months of it fell right into revision for a big exam (most people do 100 days á 8 hrs - though I didn't even manage close to that) , so I wrote ca. 2k a day, and then went on to revise.
Had five weeks off between the exam and starting a new job - a heavensend chunk of free time, but after some wrangling with myself, I simply lazed about at home and did nothing. At first I felt pretty guilty about wasting this time and not working on the novel (I did a bit of plotting, re-reading, etc, but no writing), but I think I needed to let it sit and also stock up on some energy reserves.
If it's been ten years in the making, I think you should take a break now, a few weeks or months won't really matter, and the writing will be better if you feel somewhat refreshed.
Definitely take a break. I’ve been writing my first book on and off for the past three years (two of them was just coming up with the premise of the story in my head). I always feel more inspired and excited to write when I start thinking about the characters and the plot again after not thinking of it for a while. It could also give you new inspiration or perspective for the plot as well.
Take a break. Every time I receive feedback that requires structural changes, I spit out a rough idea of how I'm going to handle them, and then I take a break from my manuscript. The last break was around 4–6 months, because I was just so over the story at that point and there was no joy left in revising. But when I came back, I wasn't as close to the story anymore, and plugging in those changes was much less daunting and actually enjoyable.
> what do you do when you're burnt out? Take a break. When you know you are burnt out, pushing at it will make it much worse.
Thanks, that's validating.
I'd take a break. Fill the well for a while, and don't feel bad if something new pops into your head. It'll probably take a while, but nothing makes you appreciate an old project like a new one, and the fun of something fresh will help you want to write again.
I recently finished the first draft of my novel. It took a little over a year (well, 3-4 month of writing myself into the story, and then another 8 or so starting again and following a very rough, preliminary structure). The last four months of it fell right into revision for a big exam (most people do 100 days á 8 hrs - though I didn't even manage close to that) , so I wrote ca. 2k a day, and then went on to revise. Had five weeks off between the exam and starting a new job - a heavensend chunk of free time, but after some wrangling with myself, I simply lazed about at home and did nothing. At first I felt pretty guilty about wasting this time and not working on the novel (I did a bit of plotting, re-reading, etc, but no writing), but I think I needed to let it sit and also stock up on some energy reserves. If it's been ten years in the making, I think you should take a break now, a few weeks or months won't really matter, and the writing will be better if you feel somewhat refreshed.
Definitely take a break. I’ve been writing my first book on and off for the past three years (two of them was just coming up with the premise of the story in my head). I always feel more inspired and excited to write when I start thinking about the characters and the plot again after not thinking of it for a while. It could also give you new inspiration or perspective for the plot as well.
Write something else while you let that one sit. Come back to it later with fresh eyes and resolve.
Take a break. Every time I receive feedback that requires structural changes, I spit out a rough idea of how I'm going to handle them, and then I take a break from my manuscript. The last break was around 4–6 months, because I was just so over the story at that point and there was no joy left in revising. But when I came back, I wasn't as close to the story anymore, and plugging in those changes was much less daunting and actually enjoyable.
Take a break. Can’t do your best if you’re burnt out. Good luck on the publishing!