Advice on what to do when feeling anxious and burned out by my passion for writing

[cfc]

I have been developing my own tv series idea since last April. I have already written a treatment and pilot script. Just before and after the New Year, I put lots of effort into improving both of these as I entered great screenwriting competitions. I am still awaiting the outcome of these competitions. While waiting, I was advised to not to look at my treatment and pilot for a while (which I haven't). However, I didn't want to just stand still regarding the whole project because I’ve always been afraid of my brain wandering and losing interest in an idea that means so much to me.

I can't stand the idea of not thinking about developing other parts of the story and characters for a specific period of time, but I'm now afraid it's got me scared to write. I have ideas for scenes in certain episodes I want to write, but I just feel like I don't have the mental energy to do it at the moment. I am also unemployed at the moment, so there is a lot of uncertainty in my personal life which I'm sure isn't helping.

It feels like the main light in the tunnel as far as the tv series is concerned, is I still get these little flashes of inspiration for certain episodes which I love, and always write them down in my messy notes document. It's just writing these scenes makes me feel so mentally anxious and exhausted, and I feel like I need to have mentally exhilarated energy to be able to do so. How would I write professionally if I can't even overcome mental obstacles now? All this in turn makes me feel bad about myself, making the points where I like thinking up new ideas become "I really want to write this as a scene, but feel unable to " etc. Sometimes I also like to send the existing treatment and script to other industry professionals (and I actually have a zoom call with someone who has a real-life experience that a character has coming up, which is exciting). However, even sending these to new people now feels exhausting, but I'm thinking that could help me feel more optimistic if they reply to me.

In other posts like this, I have heard conflicting responses. Some say to just keep writing, others say to forget about the whole thing for a while and take a break. Does anyone have any advice about what to do in the short-term, at least until I've heard the outcome of both writing competitions? Should I try and write little scenes of ideas I have, stop thinking about the whole thing, or keep playing to my strengths and try and think up new ideas then note them down, but not worry about converting these ideas into fully-fledged scenes for now? Also, should I keep trying to send my existing treatment and pilot to others if I feel less mentally exhausted by doing that?

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Should you take a break or keep pushing through the mental exhaustion because you have to? When both hold true, you have to do both. What do I mean by that? "Mini breaks". Pace yourself. Whether you are a student that must study for that next exam, or like myself, someone who puts in 40-60hrs a week at a high-stress job working in a 115-bed neonatal intensive care ward, or your are in any other situation where you just can't "stop" because of responsibilities, etc., you have to find time to "catch your breath". So, as a part-time university instructor, as a teacher and mentor to new physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists, I know that I am pretty much limited to about 30-45 minutes of lecture before my students start to "drift off". Their minds have taken in whatever information it could, and now they need to process it. So, autistic or not, the brain appears to have a cycle, that is, time to incorporate new information and then time for processing and internalization. If an instructor is pushing new information when the mind is in the "processing and internalization" period, the mind just shuts down under that stress.

What I suggest is cycle your productive time (30-45 minutes) with short breaks (5, 10, 15 minutes) and repeat. If you can, productive time while walking around, standing, moving your feet, etc. Sitting in a chair at a desk is literally the worst for learning and productivity as there is less blood perfusion to the brain. Then, your breaks, find a quiet place where you're not going to be disturbed, a bathroom, a break room, a locker room, wherever that is for you, but "shut down" (no music, no video games, nothing). Meditate, relax, use your noise-cancelling headphones, etc. Then, back at it.

Beyond that, stay away from pro-inflammatory foods like saturated fats and sugary foods and drinks. Stay well-hydrated. Get yourself on a regimented sleep schedule of 8-10 hrs of rest/day. Supplement with L-theanine, methylated B-complex vitamins, low-dose creatine, and broad-spectrum probiotics. In general, take care of your brain and body.

 

[marc_101]

In other posts like this, I have heard conflicting responses. Some say to just keep writing, others say to forget about the whole thing for a while and take a break. Does anyone have any advice about what to do in the short-term, at least until I've heard the outcome of both writing competitions? Should I try and write little scenes of ideas I have, stop thinking about the whole thing, or keep playing to my strengths and try and think up new ideas then note them down, but not worry about converting these ideas into fully-fledged scenes for now? Also, should I keep trying to send my existing treatment and pilot to others if I feel less mentally exhausted by doing that?

It sounds to me that you found your answer. It's not about keep going vs stopping about the whole thing. It's about finding a balance that makes the task sustainable. Most solutions are obvious: come up with a schedule, including making time for resting and clearing your mind and so on. The issue is how to do that. That's where you'll have to figure out based on your goals and constraints. Perhaps look for a job that will give you structure while you block time to think about new developments? So again, it seems to me that you have your answer but you need to figure out what would work for you.

 

[Tom]

"While waiting, I was advised to not to look at my treatment and pilot for a while"

If you don't mind, who advised you, and did they give any reasons?

 

[Dagan]

Per my own writing / projects all around, yes, you have to just walk away from them at times. What I do at the same time, though, is that I will begin to at least dabble with another...planning / outlining stages at the very least. It's because I will still have this nervous sort of energy to "create," but I can't and shouldn't stick to the original project that's stalled out for me because I know what happens if I just force or rush anything to completion - it won't be my best work - it will likely have to be edited / revised entirely. Almost every instance of this, right in the middle of getting into said other project, something will spark and truly excite and deeply inspire me to get back to the original project again.

Making detailed outlines is something that I absolutely stick to, as well. I always know my ending and every step of the way getting there. Sometimes, though...and this has helped a lot....I will either take google maps, satellite view screenshots of areas that look like my location(s) per my stories...or sometimes I will make my own using MS Paint...and then I will plot out every major scene/chapter on said map. Seeing terrain, environments, etc. are often very inspiring for options that characters could possibly contend with - suddenly creating whole other, new scenes that I didn't have in mind previously.

In a worst-case-scenario, though, I always turn to listening to classical music and/or film score soundtracks while sitting with the laptop open. Music is awesome.

I truly understand the catch-22 of having tunnel vision for a project - good aspects and then detrimental aspects at times.

P.S. (sidenote) - I'm about to switch to using Fade In compared to using Final Draft since 2002, and the features and different kinds of writing templates available - it all feels very inspiring in and of itself.