What it feels like to run on empty: #YouBeneathYourSkin

In the last two months, I haven't had an entire night's sleep. I'm lucky if I have five hours. No weekends. No evenings out. Almost no cooking or gardening. The worst thing? No creative writing, and almost no reading. I'm on a hamster wheel and the faster I run, the faster it spins--the book tour gig is not for sissies.

I'm traveling to various cities in India with You Beneath Your Skin, attending panels and discussions and lit-fests and all throughout an inner voice that remains calm and detached keeps asking me when I plan to get back to my current WIP again.

I'm fundraising for two charities I've volunteered with for a while: Project WHY and Stop Acid Attacks: all my proceeds go to them. This adds an impetus--I'm pretty sure if this was a normal book, with no causes attached to it, I would have bolted into a hidey-hole a long time ago.


To de-stress and keep myself functional, I've turned to meditation--just learning to breathe and remaining with that flow. I'm forgiving myself for falling a little behind, missing out on a few things, for falling asleep when I'm supposed to be working.

I'm sorely tempted to hide away for a while, but i know I'd have to come back, and things would be far more difficult then. Having a book out in the world is a blessing, and in my case, the culmination of 6 years of effort. Might as well try and enjoy a little of it while it lasts.

What about you? Does doing non-writing things most of the time annoy you? How do you work all of that into your life? What is your personal mantra? 

Comments

Griselda Heppel said…
You are doing an amazing thing, promoting your book, entirely to benefit these important causes. But you mustn't let yourself be drained utterly by it all. You need to look after yourself. Is it your publisher arranging all these book festival appearances and interviews? It sounds to me as if they have been overenthusiastic in booking you - authors need looking after! I do hope you are near the end of your commitments and can have a good, long rest.
Umberto Tosi said…
I salute you! I see promotion of such worthy causes and writing creatively as each part of one continuum. I wish you the best in both!
Damyanti Biswas said…
Thanks Umberto.

Thank you for the advice, Griselda. I need it.

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