Trying to Be a Writer When You’re Exhausted

Summary

The author discusses the challenges of pursuing a writing career while dealing with persistent exhaustion and the struggle to transition from academic to creative writing, despite the pressure to produce content consistently on Medium.

Abstract

The article titled "Trying to Be a Writer When You’re Exhausted" delves into the author's personal experience with chronic fatigue that affects their ability to write creatively. The author expresses frustration with their body's limitations, which hinder their writing process and quality of work. They reflect on the initial bombardment of advice on Medium that emphasizes high productivity and earnings, which contrasts sharply with their own capacity for output. The author acknowledges the value of writers who critique the push for quantity over quality, affirming their own place on the platform with a focus on producing work of high caliber, even if it means less frequent publications.

Opinions

The author feels that the prevalent advice on Medium, which stresses consistent, high-volume output for success, is unrealistic for them.
There is a sense of resentment towards their own work due to the lack of flow and structure caused by their exhaustion.
The author appreciates and finds solidarity with other writers who challenge the notion that success on Medium is tied to frequent posting.
They believe that the emphasis should be on the quality of writing rather than the quantity, advocating for a writing culture that values well-crafted pieces over sheer volume.
The author suggests an alternative AI service, ZAI.chat, as a cost-effective tool for writers, indicating its potential utility in their own writing process.

Trying to Be a Writer When You’re Exhausted

I wake up.

I am exhausted.

There is a tiredness that is seeping through my body and spreading to my neurons. They feel weak. Thinking is a problem. It is not a new tiredness, and it won’t be the last morning I wake up feeling unrested. In fact, most mornings, I wake up tired.

Deciding to be a writer and attempting to improve my craft couldn’t have come at a worse time for me creatively. Not only am I battling with the challenges that come with trying to switch from academic writing to creative writing, but I am also battling with the fact that my brain just doesn’t have the energy.

Every day, I have to judge if my brain is in gear. Frustration comes easy and I feel let down by my body. I write, or try to, and read back through the work. I resent everything that was written. Where is the flow? There is barely a structure. I’m not even sure that makes sense.

When I first joined Medium, my reading recommendations were flooded with articles about how to be a top earner. High figures in dollars rammed down my throat were accompanied by the message of consistency.

I noticed that the same writers were posting articles up to three times a day with the same eye-catching headlines, promising success just with different arrangements of words.

As someone who cannot promise consistency, or quantity as it is often referred to as, the top writers made me wonder if I was fit for this platform. If I was even fit to be a writer.

However, I would like to thank those writers who have written against the flow. Who have written mock articles about success on Medium, addressing the problems that I was seeing from the first hour I had an account.

I cannot churn articles out. My brain and body won’t let me.

But I have a place here and I think the message should always be quality over quantity.