Do you feel emotionallye exhausted after writing?

[sunandshadow]

I just finished writing the longest chunk of fiction that I have in years. (Still under 10k, so not that much of an accomplishment. But I might write a bit more, since I had one more scene idea.) The problem is that for two days in a row I've written for 2-3 hours then felt so exhausted I just crawled into bed early and got nothing done for the rest of the evening. Do you all have this problem? If so, how do you deal with writing leaving you without the energy to do anything else? Or do you consider that normal and it doesn't bother you?

 

[sr71plt]

I have felt exhausted after writing, yes, but usually after writing longer than two or three hours. Sometimes that's enough to do it, though.

 

[PacoFear]

FWIW, I'm with you, Sun. It's a satisfied tiring when it goes well though, right?

For me it seems worse when I write first-person stuff; the effort of putting myself in the narrator's place can get tiring after a long stretch.

 

[alwayswantedto]

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[TxRad]

And all this time, I thought it was my age.

Most of the time, it doesn't bother me but NANO does after the first week. Having a deadline on a mainstream book can be very taxing also.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Writing fiction does not tax me, but I don't push myself that hard. I rarely devote more than 2 or 3 hours per day, no matter how long the piece.

My day job, however, is a different story. When I finish something there I'm usually drained. I'm useless the next day, and sometimes for several days. The difference for me is that working on a deadline is stressful, and the gravity attached to my work greatly exceeds the fluff I write here. The only consequence for a poor product on Lit. is a low score.

 

[Feotakahari]

It's not the writing itself, but the editing that gets me. I have the same reaction to editing someone else's work.

 

[lovecraft68]

I find when writing stand alone stories writing excites me. I enjoy it, and it is a great release.

However in my SWB series which was very dark, I wrote about a lot of things based off of personal experience from a tough childhood.

My characters suffered from abuse and the sister battled drugs and alcohol. She was loosely based on an aunt of mine who over dosed on heroin in front of me. There were chapters that when I finished them I was wiped for days. Emotionally drained and depressed as I relived some of those things as I wrote them.

Many people were shocked that at the end of a year long train wreck series it ended happily. I did that in memory of those it did not end happy for. When I was done I felt as if I had exorcised a lot of old demons, but it was a long tough road.

 

[lovecraft68]

I sometimes find it exhausting. I just finished an 11 page (37k+) story which left me a little drained. I am currently on the second (post release) edit because I missed a lot on the first one. If the story goes over well, as this one did, the pressure is on to write a sequel.

I love that your stories are that long. I have done a few mother/son stories recently that are all around 20k some people think they are a bit long, but I always fall back to your stories which are never rushed, build up greatly and of course deliver.

I received the most flattering feedback the other day when someone compared my "Mom's Christmas Tradition" to your work they said I was "almost" as good as you. I was thrilled.

 

[alwayswantedto]

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[lovecraft68]

Thanks for the compliment LC. I haven't read your story yet but I'm sure it is just as good, if not better. I will try to find time to read it (I kind of feel guilty these days when reading that I'm not writing).

Damn, did you hit that on the head! Since I've started writing I've watched no television that is not a football game or sox game, and haven't read much more than a few lit stories here and there.

I say, well shit I only have so much time, I'm pissing it away.

And no problem on the compliment. You've set the standard for M/S stories.

If you ever get around to that story I would be interested in your take.

I put a very different spin on it. A son who DOESN'T want to have sex with his mother (at least not initially) and tried to put a unique spin on it using a secret "tradition"

 

[DG Hear]

No, I just get anxious and want to get it edited and submitted. I guess it's because I just write for fun. Once I get an iade in my head I want to get it written. I didn't figure I was normal.
DG

 

[sunandshadow]

FWIW, I'm with you, Sun. It's a satisfied tiring when it goes well though, right?

For me it seems worse when I write first-person stuff; the effort of putting myself in the narrator's place can get tiring after a long stretch.

I find when writing stand alone stories writing excites me. I enjoy it, and it is a great release.

However in my SWB series which was very dark, I wrote about a lot of things based off of personal experience from a tough childhood.

My characters suffered from abuse and the sister battled drugs and alcohol. She was loosely based on an aunt of mine who over dosed on heroin in front of me. There were chapters that when I finished them I was wiped for days. Emotionally drained and depressed as I relived some of those things as I wrote them.

Many people were shocked that at the end of a year long train wreck series it ended happily. I did that in memory of those it did not end happy for. When I was done I felt as if I had exorcised a lot of old demons, but it was a long tough road.

These two things must account for it - what I was/am writing is a first person thing and, while not depressing, is kind of an emotional rollercoaster, and in particular the main character is nervous a lot. Being nervous is something that usually tires me out, I just didn't think about how I was sharing the main character's feelings as I wrote them.

 

[hotdamnazgirl]

It seems to depend on what kind of scene I have been working on. Sometimes when I write something upbeat or highly erotic I have even more energy than typical after. However, if I am writing anything with a dark or deeply emotional content, I feel exhausted after. I just always thought that was normal. I don't write under a deadline, but I can see how that would be exhausting.