February 17th , 2015

I’m in limbo at the moment. A self imposed limbo of sorts in that i am trying to take a break from writing to recharge my batteries before i revisit book one and tackle a major edit/polish. While i certainly have had more time to theoretically recharge, i am finding the distinction between letting my batteries recharge and letting them grow cold and dormant to be tricky to navigate.

The lack of writing has me feeling restless instead of relaxed and the further i get from my project the more negative type feelings start to creep in. The high of finishing a draft starts to diminish and all the insecurities that get temporarily drowned out by the euphoria come back with a vengeance.

The ‘why bothers’ start to dig in like weeds and my recharge becomes threatened by being turned into a draining of enthusiasm. So while i am not writing, i am finding that i need to do things that will keep my enthusiasm for my writing running at a nice even burn so that when the time comes to dive back in i am not trying to get a fire going in a block of ice.

Engaging other creative tasks helps keep those wheels turning.

Reading other stories for pleasure and self instruction will almost certainly have your mind buzzing about your own work. Be on guard though, the risk of comparing yourself to other successful writers is ever present and not a road you want to go down.

Read books on writing that are purely instructional. Sharpening your knowledge of the craft and adding something new to your toolbox is a great way to get things roaring. For me anyways, my brain goes into overdrive thinking of how i can apply what i’ve learned to my writing.  This is usually the last step i take before i start an edit because it almost guarantees i will be champing at the bit to get back to work.

I’m sure i will discover more ways to keep from sliding too far backwards, but for now these are the things that help. Hopefully within a month or so i will be back at the grind stone.