Writing Breaks

I confess.

I've been off my writing schedule.

Instead of jotting down ideas or editing previous work, I've been writing personal letters, working on websites, and just taking care of home tasks. Even housework almost feels like guilty pleasures sometimes; writing as a professional takes hard work, attention to detail, and lots of energy.

It's good to balance that energy once in awhile. Do something physical rather than mental. Even creative projects take mental energy. Most times, creativity breeds more energy. But, sometimes, when pushing to meet deadlines, creative mental energy just drains writers.

The time to take breaks from writing is before you've gotten burned out.

Look at your life and your world without thinking of words. Insead of thinking "how would I write about this," just take in the scenery. Too often, writers have so many words running in their brains constantly, it almost becomes background static, like a radio tuned to nothing.

When you leave the house, leave your project behind. Don't carry it with you--in your hands, pack, or in your brain. Let it go. It'll wait a week or more.

Do a mixture of "must do", "need to do", and "want to do" tasks. If you take a writing break only to start your "must do" chores, you won't feel like you've really gotten any break. Consider the time much like a real vacation, when you've stuffed your luggage, held the mail, and just get away.

If you find writing or story ideas floating in your head, sure, go ahead and jot those down. Carry a blank notebook so you won't be writing on paper scraps that you'll lose. But don't work on the ideas, polish dialogue, or force yourself to write entire scenes. Just a few key words will help jog your memory for later. But you don't have to write it all during your break.

If you must do a little toward your writing craft, choose to read. Reading helps writers because we can see how others structure ideas and words. But don't read as though it's a job! Read for pleasure, to learn something new about people or places, or just read because a book is nearby. Read something you don't normally read. Comic books make for good relaxation. A cheesy romance might be something you never open, but many of those books contain nice location descriptions and enough sex to wake your biology. I'll pick up a mystery when I want a change from my non-fiction; I don't always figure out "who done it" but it's fun to use that side of my brain.

If you're waiting in lines (movie theatre, grocery store, etc.) and your mind drifts to your project, shift your focus to a related writing theme. For example, think about why you write, why you enjoy it (or hate it), why you do it, and what obstacles get in your way. Writers can lose sight of why they ever started writing in the first place. Take time to remember why you're word-possessed.

There's plenty of ways to really get breaks from writing. The key is to allow those pleasurable times, without letting your most recent project still be hanging onto you. Compartmentalize--stick your novel or other writing in a mental "box" and put it up on a shelf while you take time to do other things. Breaks won't destroy the work you've done, or destroy you. Instead, breaks will fill you with new ideas, new plans, and new energy to reume your project.

So, get out the dust rag and mop, tackle the attic, clean the garage... go out to the movies, see a play, have a picnic in the park... Just get away from writing and all the duties involved in writing. Make this week a "no writing zone" and--just like when you write--keep your agreements with yourself to do NO writing.

Then, after you've taken some days, a week, two weeks, re-commit to your project. Set reasonable goals for daily writing tasks. Think about the energy you found during your break, and turn it back toward your writing.

Judith