I’m exhausted. My brain is fried. But the thought of not writing doesn’t work for me.

I spent the last four months reediting, partially rewriting, and reformatting a series of mine. I got my rights back last year, and there were things in each of the books that I wanted to fix. I knew it would be crazy to do it all at once, but I wanted them rereleased all together.

I wouldn’t wish that headache on anyone.

Do I regret doing it? Absolutely not. I got to revisit a world that I loved putting together. I gave each of the characters a little more life, more emotion, and a better reason to be doing what they’re doing. And I fell in love with the main guy just a little more than I had been before.

Two of the three main books are now released. Book three will hopefully be done in the next week. Just My Luck, which is a novella, has been released for the first time. This book is the story of Megan’s brother, Adam, and his run-in with Louie the leprechaun.

So, now I stare at my computer, wondering what I should be doing next. I have six books waiting to be written in various worlds. After pushing myself for the the last few months to get this done, my brain has a hard time thinking it can relax and just . . . write.

Writing can be hard.  You’re putting a piece of your being on paper. Your very soul. So how do you do that when all you want to do is curl up in a ball? Start small.

When I was young, I would sit at a computer, pick out a name and an animal, and just start writing. It worked great, and the stories just flowed.

Recently, I joined a group where each Wednesday we write one hundred word stories. Some prompts are difficult. Others are very easy. I have come up with a few new book ideas from those prompts.

My first luck book, Stolen Luck, actually came from a simple writing exercise. The prompt was “Your worst day ever.” I immediately wondered what it would be like if someone had never had a worst day. If everything always went right. So I started writing, and suddenly a leprechaun appeared and offered Megan all the luck she could ever want—for a price. It was unexpected, but it also ended up becoming three books and a novella. I’m currently writing a fourth book as well.

My biggest advice for those who are burnt out is, don’t give up. Take a break for a bit. Go read, do other hobbies you’ve put on the back burner, watch a movie—but come back and try again.

As I said before, start small. There’s a great link here where you can get random first lines. See where that first line can take you.

Catch up on your blog posts or journal. Loosen your mind to allow it to think.

Stories will hit you when you’re most relaxed. I have found myself scrambling for a piece of paper or my notepad on my phone at church, because a story idea struck while I was singing a hymn.

So what do you do to relax and get back to writing?