Do you have frühjahrsmüdigkeit?

Welcome to The Writing Rundown, a weekly newsletter that offers advice, short essays, and reading suggestions to help driven writers (like you!) improve their writing craft. It's nice to see you here! If someone forwarded you this email because they love your writing, you can subscribe here.

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

“The first bud of spring sings the other seeds into joining her uprising.” ― Amanda Gorman

Frühjahrsmüdigkeit* literally translates as "spring fatigue" and it is a sense of lethargy and sadness as spring is springing.

The all-knowing resource guide that is Wikipedia notes it happens for northern hemisphere folks from mid-March to mid-April, and is marked by "weariness (despite an adequate amount of sleep), sensitivity to changes in the weather, dizziness, irritability, headaches, and sometimes aching joints and a lack of drive are the most common."

While the causes of Frühjahrsmüdigkeit remain unproven, some speculations include:

The body's response to an onslaught of sunlight, bringing out the happiness chemical serotonin and bombarding a body that's been relying heavily on melatonin (warm fuzzy sleep chemical) through the dark days of winter
Temperature fluctuations that cause your blood vessels to expand and contract all willy-nilly, causing your body to go "WTAF, could you calm it down with the blood pressure games‽"
A melancholic heaviness as you see life trying to push through the cold dead remains of grass and trees
Congestion and exhaustion from those same beautiful buds of life as they spew pollen and allergens into the atmosphere again
Tummy sadness as your delicious hearty comfort foods of winter are replaced by lighter fresher summer-body-ready springtime noms
FOMO or outsiderness, as you watch everyone around you become invigorated as they come out of their winter shell, but you just can't bring yourself to care or feel such bliss

Frühjahrsmüdigkeit is pretty much the opposite of the more known "Spring Fever", where you have an increase in energy and excited anticipation for moments to come; though some might argue that these are two sides of the same coin.

Which are you? Spring Fever or Frühjahrsmüdigkeit?

*Yes, it's a German word; and yes, if there's something we English-speakers can't quite put a name to, the Germans have a word for it.

(I’m posting more on LinkedIn right now, though that’s not where my essays will end up. You might have seen a version of this over there.)

CYC Elsewhere…

Other places we’ve popped up around the interwebs.

Spring Cleaning Workshop — In 3 days, re-align your writing life and get ready to dive into the next season of your creative flow (mark your calendars, Tuesday, April 9th thru Thursday, April 11th)

In Other Reading This Week …

Need more insights and inspiration for your writing and mindset?

I’ve been digging more into the resurgence of personal websites and online writing, and found a trove of resources and proponents for POSSE and other IndieWeb ideals. You can get started yourself with these 100 ideas for things to put on a personal website.
If you are deep in frühjahrsmüdigkeit, or edging your way there, you might want to prolong the hibernation a bit longer.
You can’t write from a dried out and empty (ink)well, so what are you supposed to do when you hit a wall of writing fatigue? Edie Melson has some ideas for what to tap to get that creativity flowing again.
Feel like the world is out to get you? Like if it isn’t one thing, it’s always fucking something else?
What’s cooler than being a poet laureate for an entire country? Being named a second time? Landing a MacArthur “genius” grant? Nope. This is definitely cooler. The coolest?

Weekly Writing Tip …

A quick chance to learn from the masters.

“Yes, I deserve a spring—I owe nobody nothing. Not a letter I need to write (there are poems in MS all waiting) nor need I have week-enders.” Virginia Woolf, A Writer’s Diary

This Week’s Writing Resource …

Why not use the tools at your disposal?

Google Docs Tips & Hacks — 16 shortcuts and other hidden secrets to get the most out of your Google Docs experience.

For the Upcoming Week …

Because we all need a good chuckle to start things off right!

If a Jedi Master struggles with it, how are mere mortals supposed to wield grammar’s Force‽

‘Til next time! ~ Elisa

One Last Thing…

How am I doing?

I love hearing from readers, and I appreciate the replies and feedback (even if I’m in a writing hole and it takes me a week to send a response, I will respond!) How am I doing with The Writing Rundown? Is there anything you’d like to see more of? Anything you’d like to see less of? Do you miss my ramblings? Wish I’d just send the dang thing consistently? Which aspects of the newsletter do you enjoy the most? Please hit Reply and say “Hi” — I love to hear from you. 💞