When creative block feels like burnout...
No, I haven’t been blocked by anyone (that I know of) on socials or anything.
Still, in this series, I'm going to be exploring my creative block and how I come out of it, along with how I help clients out of it.
I’ve been experiencing SEVERE writer’s block for over a year. Sure, I still managed to edit and release a novel this year. And I’ve managed a few articles, blogs, and newsletters. I even wrote a novella in a week this summer.
Writer’s block - and any creative block - can be marked by a complete absence of the creative endeavor, or it can be a difficult time with that creative outlet. That’s what I’ve been experiencing.
It’s been interesting coaching women - in my mentorship containers and my therapy office - that are dealing with burnout and struggling with balance when I’m so disconnected from my main creative outlet.
I haven’t been burned out, exactly. I love writing. I miss writing. I want to reconnect with my stories and characters, with the nonfiction idea that I’ve been working on for a couple of years (that may actually be more than one), with the long-form ideas I come up with that pass. I want the poems and the words and the worlds to come alive again. It’s like a tap has been turned and the words are blocked from coming out.
Today it hit me, though…
This block has come from putting so much time and energy into short-form content that’s not moving the needle in any area of my life. Short-form content isn’t feeding my creativity. It’s stifling it.
It’s not just the content creation, though.
It’s the intake. The consumption. The endless scrolling.
Last night, though, I wrote a poem.
One could argue much of poetry is the original short-form content, but it’s not the same when we engage with paper & pen instead of caption and moving picture.
This poem is raw. Exposing. Freeing.
It’s real. Needed.
It’s hones and creative and gets to the heart of somethings I’ve been carrying for years.
Finally being able to write a poem (or something poem adjacent) sparked something in me.
It felt like a homecoming.
This reinforces something I’ve been saying to myself and my clients for a while: sometimes burnout recovery or moving past a creative block isn’t about doing less, but rather, it’s about doing more of the creating.
I don’t discount the power social media has to bring us together, but recognize that, for me, my plan for 2026 has to shift.
More long-form. More blogs. More YouTube videos. More newsletters. More writing.
How does your 2026 need to shift to be more aligned? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear about it.
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This is part one of a series. When the others are posted, make sure you read them all.