Even Writers Get the Blues

Got the blues?

You aren't alone.

Depression by occupational categories. (The NSDUH Report 2007)

Personal Care and Service	10.8%
Food Preparation and Serving Related	10.3%
Community and Social Services	9.6%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	9.6%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	9.1%
Education, Training, and Library	8.7%
Office and Administrative Support	8.1%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	7.3%
Financial	6.7%
Sales and Related	6.7%
Legal	6.4%
Transportation and Material Moving	6.4%
Mathematical and Computer Scientists	6.2%
Production	5.9%
Management	5.8%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	5.6%
Protective Service	5.5%
Construction and Extraction	4.8%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	4.4%
Life, Physical, and Social Science	4.4%
Engineering, Architecture, and Surveyors	4.3%

We writers share a profession over which we have little or no control. We can write harder, better, longer, cleaner-- but in the end it is all subjective. So let me reiterate--basically you have little control over your career, the career upon which your life is based.

Please reread the above.

So how about we start by cutting ourselves some slack?

And if you know me at all, you know I have rules.

Rules for the Blues:

1. Acknowledge.

2. Limit.

3. Trackback.

4. Recharge.

5. Indulge.

6. Plan.

7. Support.

• Acknowledge

Let's be clear, I'm talking about the blues--being down--periods of discouragement.

First, recognize and label what you are feeling. The blues isn't something to be ashamed of. It is not a sign of weakness.

Don't deny it or feel guilty. Instead take charge of yourself right away. Put yourself in control of the situation.

Get it all out.

No, I mean get it all out.

Try writing an email you don’t send, have a good cry, whine, stomp your feet–whatever helps you express your grief, anger, sadness, frustration or pain.

• Limit

Set a time limit for yourself and stick to it.

I really do give myself 24 hours. Since I set that limit years ago, I need less and less time to get-over-it and move on.

No one else is going to set your boundaries. You have to do it for yourself.

• Trackback

What caused the blues? Was it one single incident or an accumulation of events? Identifying what triggered the blues can help defuse the blues next time they threaten to attack.

Was it a rejection? We have rejections covered here in Seekerville.


No time to write? Let me recommend a great book on the subject.


Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to Fit Writing into Your Busy Life , Kelly R Stone





We also happen to be giving away two copies of The Writer's Portable Therapist here in Seekerville this week. How's that for a book to read when you have the blues?




Are you stressed? Try taking The Holmes Rahe Scale. Maybe you have good reason to be blue, and by becoming aware of your total score you can make changes to prevent stress-related illness.

• Recharge

Provide yourself with extra mental, physical and spiritual nourishment when you are going through a rough patch. Drink lots of water and eat foods that will boost your mental health.

Folate and Vitamin B12 create seratonin that normalizes moods. Foods high in folate and B12 include fortified whole-grain cereals, dark green, leafy veggies, beans, oatmeal, beets, broccoli, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, oranges, shellfish, wild salmon, lean beef, cottage cheese, low-fat dairy and eggs.


Omega 3 fats such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, ground flaxseeds, canola oil, walnuts and omega-3 fortified eggs are proven mental boosters.

Vitamin D also increases seratonin. Besides fortified milk and orange juice, and consumption of bony fish, you can supplement your diet with a multi-vitamin.

Don't forget exercise. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.


Let's not leave out the miracle drug. Chocolate. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine which makes the brain release b-endorphin, an opioid peptide. Blood pressure is raised, glucose levels go up and there is a pleasure or contentment response.


Recharge yourself spiritually. Feed your spirit. Pray, meditate, and utilize positive affirmations.

• Indulge

Go ahead.
Pamper yourself.

How about a in something that makes you feel special like a hardback book, a new tea cup, or a slice of Mary Connealy's carrot cake?


Treat yourself no less than you would a friend going through the same thing.
Be nice to you.

• Plan

Take a stand and refuse to expose yourself to negative sources, be it critique partners, reviewers, or even friends. Life is simply too short to surround yourself with anything that doesn't add something positive to your life. Avoid spiritual and mental vampires.

MIRA/Harlequin Super Romance author, Brenda Novak has an excellent workshop available for download at Billspro (2007 , 24 most popular sessions) called, Overcoming Discouragement and Other Obstacles to Succes. I've listened to it no less than four times.

She talks about keeping a Gratitude Book where you document at the end of each day what you are grateful for. This is an awesome idea, especially if you have a hard time focusing on the positive instead of the the negative.


An attitude of gratitude keeps the focus on all the wonderful things in our lives.

Henriette Anne Klausner in Write It Down, Make it Happen says "You needn't wait to get what you want to be thankful."

• Support

When you are blue is not the time to be alone.

Who is there for you? Who can you call or email when you have the blues? In this internet wide world, we have lots of friends and contacts, lots of social networks, but who can you trust to cry on their shoulder?

Writing is a solitary profession despite Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.

Cultivate true friends. Tell those friends and loved ones who are there for you how much you appreciate them. Tell them often.

Now smile, cause you have a lot to smile about.
YOU ARE A WRITER!

Remember that it is normal to get the blues, but if your blues seem to go beyond what I've discussed here or last longer than two weeks please schedule an appointment with your health care provider to see if there are other reasons for what you are feeling.

Writing despite myself

Camy here, talking about the one thing I struggle against the most when it comes to writing—myself.

I don’t like it, but I am a very emotional writer. Meaning, my writing motivation is often fed by my feelings.

I find I write less in wintertime because the season makes me a little depressed, more sluggish, less motivated. I know I’m not alone.

Other times during the year, when something happens to emotionally impact me, my writing goes out the window. High stress situations will also sap my creativity.

This is not a good thing when I’m under deadline. While my editor might be sympathetic, I’m still UNDER CONTRACT to turn in a manuscript. A publishing house is a business, and I have been hired as a freelance contractor to deliver goods (my manuscript) on time.

In short, I’m still struggling to find a way to write despite depression, despite stress, despite distraction, because it’s my JOB to write, and I can’t shirk on my job.

In hindsight, I wish I’d developed these skills when there wasn’t so much riding on my performance—before I was contracted. Once I became contracted, I realized that my normal method of handling depression and stress—eating copious amounts of rocky road ice cream and nagging Ruthy for her cream puff recipe, oh, and not writing—wasn’t going to work.

So now, I am learning stress and emotion management. It doesn’t always work, because depression is something I have a hard time fighting (I have mild depression that can be triggered by external stimuli—I’ve been that way since I was a teen).

One thing that sounds like a broken record but which really does work is write a little every day. Whether I work on my contracted novel, or on something else just for me, or on a short story for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I try to write at least 100 words a day. (Fiction words, mind you—emails and blog posts and articles don’t count.)

Most days, those 100 words are easy. Other days, it’s like trying to squeeze my size 14 bum into size 6 jeans—a lot of heaving, ho-ing, sweating, and grunting.

But that little burst of creativity does two things:

1) It keeps my writing momentum strong. If I stop writing for a day, my depression or stress might keep me from picking my writing up again for days or weeks.

2) It somehow helps to keep the emotions at bay. I feel calmer, even a little happier, because I accomplished those 100 words for the day.

Another thing I try to do is read my Bible every day. Even just a chapter.

You can pick and choose your own method of spiritual relaxation, especially if you’re not a Christian.

I am, so I turn to my Bible—it’s a no-brainer and it really does help me. It calms me like nothing else and helps me to emotionally tackle those 100 words for the day if I haven’t done them yet.

Whatever you choose to do, pick something that will calm you, center you, inspire you, and focus you.

It won’t be a cure for whatever emotion is roiling inside you or pulling you down, but it will help in small ways to help you keep your writing momentum with those 100 words.

I’m still struggling with this, so if any of you have ideas, feel free to comment.

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Her novel Single Sashimi is out now, and she runs the Story Sensei critique service. In her spare time, she is a staff worker for her church youth group, and she leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels every Monday and Thursday, and she ponders frivolous things. Sign up for her newsletter YahooGroup for monthly giveaways!