Is It Burnout?

Question -
Hi Kiki,
Thank you for coming to our rescue.

If you just sit and stare at the computer screen, with deadlines looming,
and are unable to decide what to do next, is that burnout? If so, what is
the solution?

My Answer -

Hmmmm - that's a tough question because it could be burnout but it could be a number of other things as well. We'd need to explore a couple of things first of all to find out if it's burnout, or writer's block or a situational or seasonal thing, if something's going on in another area of your life or how you're feeling about your writing life in general and the project you need to be working on, in particular.

Whew! Then we could start to come up with some solutions to the problem. What I would suggest as a start is to get up and walk away from the computer for a while if you can so that you don't start to connect the computer with the feelings of frustration which might make it harder to approach it in the future. Another thing you might try is using the computer to begin to explore what's going on. Ask yourself some of the above questions - and start typing away - do some automatic writing and you might find that some of your answers will find their way into words.

Putting the thoughts and feelings into words is the first step to becoming aware of them, understanding them and discovering solutions - the ways to implement the solutions is a step further down the road but sometimes all you need is a jolt of energy in the right direction and finding some answers is a good way to liberate some of the energy that's tied up while you're sitting and staring....

Hope this helps - feel free to email or call,
Best,
Kiki