Thursday, November 7, 2013

Time Off

I know that I wrote a while back that it's okay to take some time away from writing.  And it is.  We all need some recovery time to pursue other things.  Maybe we have kids to spend time with or have always wanted to take up skydiving.  I think that's a great way to let the mind decompress.  I also think it's okay to not kick yourself if you miss something now and again.

Just don't make a habit out of it.

The occasional break or shifting of a time goal is perfectly understandable.  Unfortunately, it can lead to a cycle of always taking time away, and we all know that once you take one day off, it's easier to take the next day off.  In that respect, it's like working out - one day here or there means little, but it gets worse cumulatively until you wonder when you ever found time to do it in the first place.

This has hit me recently with my writing.  I finished my most recent novel just over a month ago, and I had all these wonderful plans to do before starting up my next book in January.  All I needed, I felt, was a tiny rest break.  Well, that tiny rest break turned into three and a half weeks before I turned around, and I found that it took a great deal to get me back into the swing of things once I started up again.

My grandiose plans of writing a short story a week now lay in tatters, as does getting the first edit of Schism complete prior to Thanksgiving.  I simply took too much time off, and getting back into my groove is challenging.  What's worse is that I got off track on when I make blog entries, so I have to catch up a little.

Who's fault is this?  Mine, plain and simple, and I've found a way out.  I'm now editing every day and going back to my traditional updating.  This weekend, I'll be writing my next short story, with a goal of doing two this weekend and one each week until my Christmas vacation.  Yes, it'll be a chore at first, but just like with the novels I've written, once I'm back on track, I'll look forward each day to writing again.  Who knows...I might even start my next novel's outline soon...
(Keep the wheel turnin')

2 comments:

  1. Taking time off can be rough! I had to do it when I decided to shelve my fantasy novel and decide not to rewrite it. Yikes, that was rough. After that it wasn't so much the habit of writing that took me long to get involved in, was attaching myself to a new story. Finally, since letting that novel go and going through several failed attempts to start new, I am working on something I do feel attached to, although I am in the "I don't know what to call it stage." It's definitely a short story but it's un-outlined so I know it's a risk. Now, I just hope I finish it. :) Good luck getting back into writing!

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    1. Attachment definitely helps when it comes to writing. If it doesn't excite us, then who will it excite? And isn't exciting people one of the reasons we make time to write in the first place?

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