How Not to Die (as a Writer)

At the Novel Marketing Conference last January, Thomas Umstattd Jr. gave a talk about the phases in a writer’s life and how to work within those phases and NOT BURN OUT. Many of us in the audience laughed when he used this OG graphic at that point:'

He mentioned play as one way to help avoid burnout. As a 6th-12th grade teacher of over twenty years, I’ve got games. HOWEVER, I recently stumbled on a new and very beneficial form of creative play.

I got the idea from Flannery O’Connor, who suggested that drawing and painting can help a writer learn to see and express better. Since my homeschooled 14 yo son needed art lessons, I joined him!

I’m not paid to say this; just a satisfied customer 😃

This past school year I sat elbow-to-elbow with my 14 yo son at the dining room table surrounded by art supplies, and we watched Mrs. Courtney’s art lessons.

She does live classes, but I didn’t want to commit to another scheduled slot in my week. Also, my son has never had formal art interaction, so I didn’t want him to compare his work every week with the other live students. Consequently, we stuck with a Self-Paced class. We paid for one semester worth of lessons (for ages 8+, ha!) and stretched it over a full school year, so that we could enjoy the pace and not feel overwhelmed or tempted by the need to hurry through them to meet an external deadline. I chose Nature Journaling, so we could incorporate it into our science curriculum. I plan for us to do the next semester next year.

What a great experience! Highly recommend!

Each lesson started with a poem about the nature we would be drawing. I appreciated this writer-word-connection to each lesson. Then we learned some specific art techniques and applied them to a project. Can I tell you how TRANSFORMATIVE it is to have a few techniques? Before this class, I often felt stoo-pid when I tried to draw something. With a little teaching, I felt so empowered, so capable.

If you'd like to try adding art to your arsenal of defense against writer/publishing burnout, Mrs. Courtney’s pre-recorded classes are a gem!