Finnian Burnett

Welp, folks. Last time I posted a personal blog, I was WRITING ALL THE THINGS and have basically shifted from the March and April energy of “I can do anything!” to the May energy of “Oh shit. I have to do something.” Gone are the days of waking up at 2 AM and writing a new story or outlining a new book. Gone are the moments of me thinking, “I should just write a six-part series this month!”

Instead, I’m left with a bunch of half-plotted book ideas, a few flash fiction stories, a lot of great new ideas, and, shockingly, some actually completed projects. And now I’m sitting in the middle of all of that with my Yorkshire tea and my 21 zoom classes this month, looking around at everything going, “Who said yes to all of this?”

It’s funny how fast my energy shifts. Last month, I was flying through new stories like I was on some writers game show and the prize was the president of Penguin Canada waiting at the finish line with a billion dollar advance and this month, I’m dragging myself through the day, just trying to get through all of my work and slogging through a story here and there.

It’s like last month was all about what I could start and this month is about what I can finish. But honestly, it feels less scary this year. Maybe because I was ready for it. I know a crash always comes after a high. And I’m left with some amazing started projects. A new novella-in-flash with a few stories written. A wealth of pieces and excerpts for my Patreon. Some ideas for my non-fiction book and a good start on the proposal which is due to my agent in August.

So, it’s not the loss I thought it might be. It feels more–hopeful this time. This week, I’m leaving to road trip with my bestie where we’ll be authors-in-residence for the AWCS writing retreat. The following week, I’m teaching a three-day flash fiction class. Then I’m presenting at the Writers Guild of Alberta conference. After a long day of driving home, I’ll be in vacation mode until my wife and I leave for England and hopefully, I’ll wrap up some work in those six weeks.

Maybe it won’t be at the frantic pace of March and April, but it will still be steady. And sometimes, that’s even better. It forces me to slow down, to look at what I created in the high-energy phase, to determine which ones I can take to the finish line.

If you’re finding yourself in a creative shift – from writing all the things to writing none of the things – or reverse or something in between, my advice is to ride it out. I know I’m guilty of worrying, whenever I have a lull in my creativity, that it is never coming back. But time and history shows that it does come back. And while there are things we can do to nurture it, sometimes the best thing you can do is just wait and let it come back naturally.

If that doesn’t work, try putting out snacks.