Sunday, January 5, 2014

sometimes, you just need a break

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that I've written many, many times about overcoming writer's block (like this pep talkthis post about motivationthis funny flow chart, and this rant) and each time I've talked about pushing through it, forcing yourself to write, finding that motivation again. Well, sometimes you just need a break.

Life can get so crazy, can't it? I mean, what with school (if you're my age), kids, jobs, church, volunteer work - sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day. And when you reach that point, something's got to give. Well, this time, the thing that gave out was my writing.

When I fall into slumps or have to put writing on the back burner for a bit, it doesn't change how passionate I am about the story and the characters. I think about them all the time - a song will come on that perfectly describes a situation from my book, or I'll see someone walking on the street and feel like I've just seen my character in real life. The passion doesn't go away, but sometimes other things have to take precedence.

At the moment, that thing is my last semester of college. Yup, I'm graduating in April! It's surreal to be reaching this stage of life, and kind of terrifying, but I'm just doing all I can to prepare myself to enter the real world. Thus, the fictional world in my head has to wait.

The nice thing about times like this is you really get the chance to reflect on what you've written. Once I get the chance to start writing regularly again, I have a lot of changes in mind for my novel, right down to the way the two main characters meet. But for now, those changes will have to stay in my head and off the page.

But I know that when I do start writing again, it will be a long time before I have another slump!

Do you ever have times when you just need to take a break from writing? Is it easy or hard to get back into it?

♥tg
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