I've been in a bit of a booktubing slump for the past couple of weeks, and judging by the comments from other booktubers that I follow, I'm not the only one. I don't know if it's something about this time of year, or whether slumps are contagious (I now know from experience that pulling yourself out of one isn't helped by people in your surroundings constantly repeating how slumpy they've been). I also haven't read as much as I normally would, but I am a little hesitant about calling that a slump - mostly because I don't actually like the term.
Before I begin, I'd like to take a moment to explain why I don't like it. As booktubers, we are used to devouring book after book, documenting our reading experiences in TBR videos, reviews and wrap-ups. Although this is our hobby, there is definitely some pressure to read enough books, make enough videos and say enough interesting stuff in those videos. Sometimes, we tend to forget we're actually doing it for fun. The reason I don't like the term "reading slumps", then, is because it makes us feel like we should be reading all the time. I love reading. I really do, otherwise I wouldn't have started a Youtube channel or created this website. But it's really unnecessary and stupid to feel guilty and sorry for myself when a "reading slump" happens. I love cooking and making music, too - doesn't mean I want to be doing that all the time!
Anyway. A few days ago, I found myself starting to make new plans for videos and feeling the buzz of booktubing again. So instead of regarding the past couple of weeks as a slump (which implies some sort of failure or malfunction on my part), I've decided to regard it as taking a break, which can actually be a very helpful way of getting some fresh perspective and also, as a term, gives me a hell of a lot more agency. I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling of not remembering the name of a person or object. The more you try to think of it, the more it seems to evade you, but when you finally think 'forget about it!', it suddenly comes to you. I feel like that's what happened with my and my video making: the more pressure (I have to finish this book so I can review it before next month!), the less I am inclined to actually sit down and film. However, taking a break and moving my focus to other aspects of my life gave my brain the freedom it needed to quietly come up with new ideas.
The moral of the story, I suppose, is that I shouldn't sit around waiting for inspiration to strike (and as my art teacher used to tell us, inspiration is for lazy people anyway), but simply put my energy into other things. Ideas will come!
Before I begin, I'd like to take a moment to explain why I don't like it. As booktubers, we are used to devouring book after book, documenting our reading experiences in TBR videos, reviews and wrap-ups. Although this is our hobby, there is definitely some pressure to read enough books, make enough videos and say enough interesting stuff in those videos. Sometimes, we tend to forget we're actually doing it for fun. The reason I don't like the term "reading slumps", then, is because it makes us feel like we should be reading all the time. I love reading. I really do, otherwise I wouldn't have started a Youtube channel or created this website. But it's really unnecessary and stupid to feel guilty and sorry for myself when a "reading slump" happens. I love cooking and making music, too - doesn't mean I want to be doing that all the time!
Anyway. A few days ago, I found myself starting to make new plans for videos and feeling the buzz of booktubing again. So instead of regarding the past couple of weeks as a slump (which implies some sort of failure or malfunction on my part), I've decided to regard it as taking a break, which can actually be a very helpful way of getting some fresh perspective and also, as a term, gives me a hell of a lot more agency. I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling of not remembering the name of a person or object. The more you try to think of it, the more it seems to evade you, but when you finally think 'forget about it!', it suddenly comes to you. I feel like that's what happened with my and my video making: the more pressure (I have to finish this book so I can review it before next month!), the less I am inclined to actually sit down and film. However, taking a break and moving my focus to other aspects of my life gave my brain the freedom it needed to quietly come up with new ideas.
The moral of the story, I suppose, is that I shouldn't sit around waiting for inspiration to strike (and as my art teacher used to tell us, inspiration is for lazy people anyway), but simply put my energy into other things. Ideas will come!