Top 5 Self Care Tips for Writers

1. Find your Balance

I've recorded a video on this before on my YouTube channel, all about creating your balance as a writer. I highly recommend checking that out, but essentially you want to craft a lifestyle that is sustainable for you and your writing.

That involves (of course writing but) your personal life to include yourself, your alone time, time with family time with friends, and times you do the things that you enjoy. So create your balance!

2. Create a Playlist

Tip number two is creating a playlist. Now I've created a handful of playlists myself. They are available on my website. Definitely check those out. Might give you some ideas to craft your own, but I highly recommend creating a playlist for yourself.

For writing, for reading, you can even be genre specific. For example, I've created some fantasy, dark fantasy, romance, dark academia, and cottagecore playlists on my website. I also created a specific playlist for The Christmas Witch. When I was writing that, I listened to this playlist every single time I sat down to write. It's all instrumental music.

I definitely recommend choosing instrumental songs for your playlists, for writing and for reading, because then your brain, isn't thinking about different words. It's just listening to the music while you are either writing or reading the words. The reason I recommend this as a self-care tip, is because music is so powerful.

We're so connected to the different tones and the feelings that those tones create. They can evoke new creativity, whether you are writing or reading, and listening to these playlists.

3. Go Outside

Tip number three is go outside! As writers… sometimes we find ourselves cooped up in our office in the house, especially after COVID… during COVID… post pandemic, being in lockdown…

Go outside, go on a walk, go in your backyard, sit on your porch, on your stoop, whatever you have access to… go outside.

This doesn't just mean “go out into nature” (which I definitely recommend, because it gives your brain some time to just relax and think of new things and noticing). That's one of the biggest tools we have as a writer, noticing what's around us. I can't wait to go back into coffee shop again. Anybody else?

When you go out into the world and notice what's around us, our brain starts turning and we start creating these new scenarios, or it may evoke a scene in your mind and you want to write it down. (Also make sure you have a notepad whenever you leave the home!) Go outside, not just for the creativity that can come from it, but also the fresh air and new experiences that you can have.

4. Quit Negative Self Talk

Yes. I mean YOU. Stop it. Stop it!

No more thinking,

• “Oh my writing isn't good enough.”
• “Oh, I can't do this.”

All of these self doubt, yucky words, that are going on in your head, it needs to stop. It needs to stop. We know it needs to stop… and it comes up. It will come up time and again, but we can battle those negative thoughts with affirmations, and positive statements that we write down about ourselves. Little mantras that we create.

A huge self care tool that we have in our pockets at all times, is noticing when we are having those doubts and negative thoughts, and then combating them with “No, wait a minute. I know I’m a great writer. I wrote this and I can do this. And I have this one person who really enjoys this.”

It doesn't matter what your sphere of influence is. You have influence and people need to hear what you have to say. So stop. Stop with negative self-talk, because I want to read what you're writing. (I do! I want to read everything. I'm obsessed with reading.) If you're beating yourself up all the time about the quality of your writing, or how many words you've written, (or how many words you haven't written) you're not giving yourself the actual space to, to create.

So stop. I give you permission to stop beating yourself up, because sometimes we need somebody else to give us permission to do this. You don't, you don't have to do this anymore. You don't have to live this way anymore. Let's choose not to.

5. Read

Tip number five is probably pretty obvious. If you're a writer, probably one of the biggest self care tips you can do is read. Not just for research, or to see how other authors are writing, but to really involve yourself with words and story and feeling creativity and enjoyment. Isn't that why we write? To tell stories and to enjoy our words and to have other people enjoy them?

Reading is so important to grow yourself as a writer. And it's a huge self-care tip too, because who doesn't like hanging out by their fireplace with cozy little book, nice warm blanket. I mean, I know I'm a huge fan of that… Like pour the tea. I'm ready. I'll be there with bells on… let's do this!

Yes. Reading huge, huge game changer in your self care. If you're not making time for yourself to read, then put that on your calendar and block it out, because you deserve to read a good book today. That is all I have for you today!

If you liked this and want to see more, I would love for you to leave me a heart, a tip, or both! Thank you so much for reading!