As I mentioned a few weeks back, leaving my old Day Job and moving to Yokohama has put me in a clearer headspace for doing creative work. This is partly because of my new surroundings, partly because of the mandatory Japanese 14-day isolation period that kept me in my apartment for two weeks, and partly because, well, there are just plain fewer distractions here.
This has translated into more novel-writing time.
To be fair, it hasn’t been a LOT more novel-writing time—rather, the conditions I’ve been working under have made going back to the novel easier.
Writing Breaks Work Wonders
In my last novel-writing update I mentioned that I was taking a break—and that I was OK with that. That’s because I was REALLY busy during my last few weeks in Toyama, which meant that not only did I have less actual time for novel-writing, I had less mental energy to even think about sitting down and tackling an intense creative project.
So, I didn’t work on the novel for nearly four months. (That may seem like a lot, but was actually my second time taking a long break from working on a novel draft.)
One of the hosts of an author podcast I listen to (an awesome one called Novel Marketing that you should totally check out) mentioned recently that he’d taken a long break from a novel manuscript he was working on. He was going through a stressful time and couldn’t write, so someone suggested he just step away from his manuscript and clear his head. After he took that break, writing felt easier and freer again, so he had an easier time than he had before.
I heard the podcast episode around the same time I was getting back into my own novel draft, and was astounded by how spot-on this advice was. Though I was intimidated to sit down and write at first, when I finally got going I felt good—like, really good. I felt powerful, immersed in he story, drawn in by new ideas.
When I went back to writing, it didn’t feel like a chore anymore—it felt exciting again!
Don’t Beat Yourself Up For Taking Breaks
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to become more conscious of procrastination versus taking breaks. Procrastination is easy to spot when you’re watching Youtube videos instead of doing your geometry homework, but it can be harder to spot when you’re afraid to start a new project and put it off because you feel intimidated.
Other times, though, your mind feels shot and you need a break. When this happens, it REALLY helps to step away, take some time, get your other shit done, and reassess your priorities before getting back to writing.
For me, this last stretch felt like a deliberate break while I finished up some other commitments. Those commitments are all over and done with now, so I feel more ready and prepared to focus on the novel.
That said, I’ll keep this post short—I’ve got some other work to do ;-)