Time To Be Real.

Claire B. 20 Comments

Howdy!

It’s been a quick few weeks. I don’t want to say “rough”, more just tiring.

Work has been really busy. I’m gradually getting into the swing of things there. I’ve halfway started to work out again. I finally got The Rise of Aredor books relaunched. I finished a novella. I got my edits back for The Wolf Prince. 

And I haven’t really written anything in three weeks.

And I haven’t wanted to.

Even with all this bookish awesomeness going on, I haven’t really felt like a writer. It’s weird. I haven’t wanted to write. I’m kind of at that point where I’m thinking everything is crap. I’m stuck on my one (it’s taken forever to get down to that number!) WIP.

But I get home in the evenings, often after having finished up a day’s worth of paperwork, or with paperwork to finish at home. My brain is fried from treating kids all day. And I pretty much make dinner, crash on the couch, and Netflix.

And I have no interest in any of my stories. I’ve barely been thinking about them. I vaguely think about starting something new, but still not terribly interested. And I firmly tell myself I need to finish everything before I start something new.

But even with all of that, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to take a break.

We all need one. Especially when life gets hectic. You have to remember that there’s life outside your writing. Life outside your worlds. Even introvert me is preferring to go socialize with live people instead of write, so I guess you know it’s bad. 😛

And as has been the case before, when I’ve gotten in this slump/mood, I’m slowly breaking out of it. I forced myself to do some edits on my Snow White novella this week and sent it to my sisters who have loved it so far. (They’re a tough crowd, usually. :P).

Then last night among doing laundry and starting to watch the new show The Gifted, I started brainstorming parts of a new story. Granted one that won’t be written for awhile. See above with finishing my dang current problem child of a WIP.

So, who knows? I might sit down and write tonight. Or I might just read one of the two books I’ve been working on for weeks now. After paperwork, cooking, tackling the pile of dirty dishes, and folding the stupid laundry. This adulting thing is little to no fun. 😛

It’s funny, we all know that we need breaks, that writing does not actually equal life, that it’s ok to hate what we write. But we still beat ourselves up about it anyway. Writers are funny people. So I decided this week that I’m not going to stress about it. I know that I’ll get back into the swing of things soon enough. This is one case where I will not write until I feel like it.

And now to you. What do you do when you hit writing/reading slumps? How do you tell yourself it’s ok to take a break?

20 thoughts on “Time To Be Real.”

  3. You can’t create if you don’t fill your creative tank. That’s what I always think. If I can’t write, it’s because my brain is on E and I need to do something else to stir up the story again. I spend time reading or watching TV shows or movies, or even playing video games. Also, you’ve done a LOT! You deserve to take a break! Give yourself a mini-cation from writing, but be sure to get back to it when you say you are. That’s important so that you don’t fizzle. I think you’re going through a normal process. We can’t function at 100% all the time, especially as writers. Creativity is a process, although it can be paired with a routine to make it flow smoothly. I think you’re doing a great job!!!

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  4. I usually take a break following a big accomplishment like a launch. It’s a bit of a reward, but it’s also a risk as it’s hard to resume good habits so I give myself a break, but I give myself a return deadline too.

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  5. I can totally relate to this, as I’m going through a very similar time right now. I just started a new job and after working from home for the last couple years getting back into the swing of that is hard, and it does leave you tired, and feeling like your creativity is burt out. But I’m sure you’ll be back to normal before long! It’s not like writers always have to write, we have dry spells too 🙂
    Right now I’m kind of taking a break to get ready for NaNo and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find a new personal schedule by then.
    But in the meantime, never let anyone say that a little Netflix is a bad thing (or a lot….)

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    • Hehe! That’s what I’m rolling with since I’ve got a movie on pretty much every night. 😛
      Yeah, I think the work schedule kind of caught up with me and I just need to figure out how everything works now. 😛

      Good luck with NaNo! 🙂 I’m probably not going to this year since I have no idea what project to work on, or want to plot out a new one. 😛

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  6. Hey, Claire! Kinda beside-the-point-kind-of question, but would you be at all interested if I tagged you in on a (super amazing) tag? 😀

    (yes, in case you’re sitting there going: “who the heck keeps commenting on my blog?” It is, indeed, Holly’s little sis, Emily. 😛 )

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  7. I know what this feels like! Sometimes I wonder why I can’t just write more! But I have to remember that the truth is, I’ll progress when I need to and sometimes it’s good to take a break. To be at peace. You got this girl!

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  8. When I hit a slump (which tends to happen after getting back feedback and I know I have a lot of revising/editing work ahead 🙂 ), I focus on other things like reading and drawing and maybe some poems. Breaks are a much needed thing for writers, I agree; it’s been helping me a lot.

    I still have to edit my Snow White retelling. I’m procrastinating. 😛

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