I’ve been on a forced writing break, beginning back in early August (which you’ve probably noticed in the extreme lack of new posts here!). I say forced because I didn’t want to take a break. Actually, I was on a creativity roll, working on three WIP at the same time and loving it (as I innocently wrote about here – most likely creating the karma that led to the subsequent lack of writing, I’m sure!). Then life had a hiccup, not a bad one at least, so it was hard to be upset at the circumstances that impacted my writing time. But it was still frustrating.
But that is over now. I’m back at it – WRITING!!! (cue sunshine, bird song, and euphoric mood)
I won’t say that life has entirely returned to calm, but I simply couldn’t ignore the pressure I felt to write. I hear so many authors question if they are truly ‘writers’. I’ve not felt that self doubt for awhile. I’m driven to write down the ideas that pass through my head. I think I’d go insane if I didn’t! It is a part of how I’d define who I am if I were asked to describe myself. So of course, I feel I am a writer – even when not writing for a few months.
You see, I’ve thought about stories the last few weeks. But when I finally grabbed my iPad to start writing again and opened up my main WIP (Spirit of Life, book three of my epic fantasy series), I was stuck. I wouldn’t call it writer’s block. There was nothing I wanted to do more than write… well maybe discover a Tardis in my backyard, but that is a different topic! It was more like writer’s congestion. I had a ton of ideas in my head, not many related to what I was setting about working on. My head was cluttered.
There seemed to be only one option: relieve the pressure of too many ideas. I opened up a blank page and wrote the scene that was at the forefront of my mind. It wan’t a part of any current WIP. In fact, it doesn’t even have a working title! It does have the barest outline of a complete story, but no developed worldbuilding. Half the characters in the scene didn’t have names. So, this was an exercise in pantsing. It was lovely. It felt great. It also did the trick.
I wrote out the scene and finally had the focus I needed to look over Spirit of Life, revisit the plot, and plan a path forward. For a bit, I considered continuing with just writing the scenes in my mind instead of my typical novel writing method, front to back. But I think I’ve decided against that, which I’ll discuss in my next post.
For now, I’m rereading what I’ve written, making notes on edits, fixing a few things, and then – hopefully – pushing forward. It feels GREAT to be writing again! And really, that us the most important part. 🙂
What about you – have you taking writing breaks before? Was it difficult to pick it up again?