It’s been a couple of months since I’ve been posting here! The lead up to Christmas was frantic. I had a 12 year old birthday, Grade 6 graduation, and everything else that comes with being a parent. My brain was also getting fried. I was working on a book that was starting to go off track, and I didn’t know how to get it back where it would make sense again.
Even this post was meant to be up last week, but I was away.
You see, there are times when we just need to take a break – and this includes us writers.
I went away last week to somewhere with limited Internet access, intermittent mobile coverage, and a busy schedule which meant I didn’t get to spend much time on the computer.
For some, this may seem like torture, but I found it quite productive. I was able to finish the edits for a book I’m planning on publishing this year, start rewriting a story I wasn’t happy with, and get a whole lot of ideas for new stories. I also read quite a few books. While I may not have had much computer time, I still had a notebook and pen. In fact, I was able to sit down last night and write a new story!
Writing it all like that, I was quite productive! I felt like I had had a break. It was a change of scenery, change of routine, change of head-space.
It’s important to have a break, and schedule them in regularly. It’s tempting to keep on working and pushing through all life’s commitments. For me, and many other writers I’ve spoken to, this is when everything starts to get off track. A break of a few days, or even a week, can help to clear my head and get my writing back on track.
Just remember, it’s important to take a break from time to time. Trust me, it will help your writing a lot.
