Monday, March 19, 2012

What's With The Break?

Sometimes breaks are vital to our wellbeings as writers. In a world where connecting with others is just one click away, it's easy to get caught up in the online world. Don't get me wrong, I love meeting other writers and reading your blogs, but it can be easy to forget WHY it is we're all connected- because of our writing. We all share a passion that brings us together, and we can lose sight of that. Instead we focus on what to post about next, what other people are working on, and trying to come up with some witty tweet for others.

I for one am a born procastinator, and surfing the net is my number one de-motivator. It's so easy to just scroll down on websites and let time fly by. I took a break because I wanted to stop worrying about all those online things that were bombarding me, and instead work on my writing. It was a nice break, I 'll be honest. And I highly recommend it to anyone struggling to focus.

What did I do with my week off? I added to my WIP (I'm about halfway done!), revisited my query letter, and played with my kids. It was a great week. If any of you are struggling to focus, or just feel plain old overwhelmed, take a break, it won't hurt. You can come back whenever you want, the writing community isn't going anywhere. And we totally understand why you might disappear from the interwebz for a bit.

10 comments:

  1. Hey Perna! I'm so glad you're back. And it sounds pretty awesome that you got a lot done. Ok, do you remember when you emailed me your stuff? Well my life exploded right after that, but if you want a beta reader again, I can do it. Just saying.

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  2. I agree. I can get carried away on the internet so easily. I think it's important to know when to stop. Especially because then we don't get any writing done! lol. Congrats on how much you accomplished in your WIP this past week! AWESOME!

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  3. Woo! Congrats on getting so much work done!

    I agree, breaks are always a wonderful thing, even if all you have time for is getting out and taking a walk.

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  4. Blog breaks can be wonderful, can't they? And by the time they're over, I'm always excited to get back to blogging! So glad you got some much needed work and family time in!

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  5. Happy to hear you had a good week off. It sounds like you were very productive! Plus, the weather has been beautiful for playing outside with the kid.

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  6. I'm horrible at taking breaks, so much so that both my agent AND my husband were advising me to take one tonight (brainstorming). Totally get you w/the online surfing--maintaining that web presence is sometimes daunting, so I devote too much time to it and then my writing isn't uniform enough for me. It's a great idea, and you've just given me that push I need in the right direction! Thanks!

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  7. So true. This is exactly what I need to do for awhile. I'm glad to hear you got so much accomplished.

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  8. Hey Prerna!
    You're so right. Life has been really stressful lately, and it's been distacting me from writing. Makes me really sad actually. I started the story I'm working on a while back but then had to do revision for a different story. Now, trying to get back into it is...well, difficult, especially with all the drama lately. Sigh, sounds like you've got the right idea. A break to just breathe and write sounds really good right about now. Glad it's helped you regain your focus, and I hope your writing's going well!
    Ninja Girl

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  9. Glad you're back! I think taking breaks are so important. I tend to do it when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Which is a lot. :) But you're right. The writing community isn't going anywhere. We'll always be here when you come back. :)

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  10. I feel like I've been taking TOO LONG a break from blogging, but life is incredibly overwhelming sometimes. Grrr. Need my spring break!

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