We talk about rest and refilling your creative well a lot around here—from MMs to TWM to TWG. In fact, letting the brain (and the most recent project) rest after a major project was one of the most popular responses when we polled our free online community last December.
But even if you didn’t participate in the most feverish writing month of the year, I’d like you to consider taking the (rest of the) winter holiday season off however you can.
Here’s why.
Reason #1: Rest (and doing something different) is an important part of the creative process.
It is no secret—at least, not to us writers—that writing can be emotionally, mentally, and physically draining. But it’s especially mentally draining, I think. You have to think yourself out of the problems you create before your characters can tackle them on the page. Even worse, sometimes your plan blows up in your face because your character decides they don’t want to do what you want them to do. Then all that thinking turns out to be all for naught.
All that thinking and re-thinking can lead to burnout and decision fatigue. You may show up and get words down, but being in that negative headspace will make it much harder and much less fun. Rest and doing something that isn’t writing will allow you to look at things with fresh eyes.
Reason #2: Taking time away from your project could bring it back to life (or help you decide to shelve it).
If you’ve built up momentum with your current project, you can feel free to move on to Reason #3. But if you’re like me, you might be prone to falling into the trap of pushing through a project that lost its steam long ago. I know all too well how frustrating of a position that is to be in. And if you have friends, critique partners, or fans waiting for a project, you might feel obligated to keep going even if the project doesn’t feel right for you anymore.
This is why taking a break is crucial to the creative process, and not something you should feel guilty for. You sometimes need the space and time away to remember why you loved it in the first place.
And, you know what? Sometimes you can’t remember why you loved a story in the first place. Sometimes you look at your plan and realize your feelings about the main plot have changed, or you no longer connect with the characters.
Reason #3: Now is the time to celebrate (and plan ahead).
The end of the year is a natural time to reflect on our writing, but generally speaking, we writers have a hard time celebrating our accomplishments. Even if you failed to meet your expectations, surely, you progressed creatively in some way over 365 days. And you should take a moment to celebrate that in whatever way feels most authentic to you.
Also, regardless of how “well” you think you did this year, next year is a new year and full of possibilities! If you haven’t already, have you set aside some time to think about what you’d like to spend your next 365 days writing? If you have, did you remember to look back on the struggles and successes you had this year and use them to inform your goals for the next year? Did you place your goals for the year somewhere you’ll look at them every day? Did you write an action plan to follow for executing your goals?
These are all things to think about as the year winds down.
