For graduate students who aren’t enrolled in courses over the summer, it can be difficult to maintain progress in our writing. During the long summers, we could easily fall off track with our academic work, potentially lacking courses and TA appointments to keep us accountable, and we will likely not have access to the advisors who would review the final product.

As a Creative Writing MFA student, I felt like this poignantly in my first summer. After Spring’s Week 11, I had no desire to even open Microsoft Word. However, I was eventually able to write and revise several chapters in the months I was off school, and still come back to the fall quarter without burnout.

 

[Image description: Barney Fife (Don Knotts) of The Andy Griffith Show turning toward the camera and dragging his hands down his face in exhaustion.]

Pictured: I really, really need a break...

I’d like to suggest a few tips for how to use the summer well, whether or not you have accountability for your writing or research.

Some advice I got from my advisor: Take a substantial break.

Don’t even look at your thesis for a few weeks. Read, or do something you enjoy in your free time, rather than trying to force yourself to write when you’re burned out from a full three academic quarters. While this may sound contradictory—to quit writing to make progress—it is better to avoid burnout by not forcing the task, which will make it even harder down the road.

In the summer of burnout, I did no writing for the first two weeks. After this break, I was able to look over some old pages of my manuscript with a clearer perspective.

 

[Image description: A brown dog laying on an inflatable cloud and rainbow floating across a pool from left to right.]

Pictured: In a hurry... to not be in a hurry.

Work on an aspect of your thesis or manuscript that you genuinely enjoy.

With a daunting task, or series of tasks, it is always best to start with something simple or fun to get into the work’s rhythm. In creative writing, this might mean starting with what interests or inspires you, be it a specific character, story, or situation. Staring at your cursor in the chapter you are stuck on is likely to lead to more frustration and feelings of inadequacy for not being able to overcome an obstacle you might not even understand or see.

[Image description: Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve) in the movie Deathtrap sitting at a typewriter, taking out the sheet he was typing on, crumpling it up, and tossing toward the ground on his left.]

Pictured: I'll save my advisor the trouble!

For me, this was a particular chapter that was supposed to connect the first two sections of my novel. I had been mulling over what would cause my narrator to move away from his hometown, and came up with a variety of possible incidents, but each time I sat down to write it, the scenes felt forced. Realizing it was pointless to force something that just wouldn’t fit into the novel, I moved on to revising chapters I had received feedback on during the school but had not had time to revise.

Read.

Reading is inextricable from the craft of writing, giving us a model for style and format, as well as inspiration through content. I would guess that, in the most intense weeks of the school year, you probably do not have much spare time or energy to read the texts you pick, particularly for curiosity or leisure, and not thesis-related research.

Take the opportunity to pick your own reading list during the summer. Maybe it isn’t the sort of reading that directly fits your research, but it is still a way to rest while keeping your mind active. Regardless of your department, finding books you like and don’t like can be useful in exploring what makes writing effective or ineffective.

 

[Image description: Loof the loaf of bread and Timmy the T-Rex just finished reading and are napping under some branches of a tree.]

Pictured: A good book followed by a nap - what a combination.

Research to answer the questions of your project that are weighing you down.

This might look different depending on your department, though I’m sure we all have questions that are holding us back in a certain chapter or thread in our argument. Personally, I knew that I was lacking statistical information that would prove whether my fictional depictions of crime were realistic enough. To assess this problem, I visited some local libraries to read up on what I knew was lacking from my project, which was tangible information in the field of criminology regarding various forms of trafficking. While I was not always writing as I pursued this research, after completing my reading, I found myself able to jump back into my manuscript with more confidence and energy than before.

 

[Image description: A man sitting at a desk in a library turning the page of a very large book.]

Pictured: What I need has got to be in here somewhere...

Most importantly, listen to what your mind and body needs.

The school year is intense with all the responsibilities we juggle. Take some time to decompress from the stresses of the academic year before trying to tackle any overwhelming tasks — and, more importantly, don’t beat yourself up for not doing everything. We can easily become our worst enemies when we get angry with ourselves for not accomplishing what would, in the circumstances, be impossible.

 

[Image description: Zooming in on Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) from The Office sitting cross-legged in a meditating position in the clearing of a wooded area.]

Pictured: Remember to destress!