Between Projects

Last week I finished the rough draft of my WIP, so this week I'm taking some time away from it. I never like to jump immediately into revisions. I have to distance myself from the story so I can go back to it with fresh and hopefully somewhat objective eyes. So what do I do in the meantime?

Two things, read and work on something else. When I'm writing, most of what I read is in the same genre as what I'm writing. Since I'm working on a middle grade fantasy, almost all of the books I've read lately were middle grade books. Sure I'll span genres to include, fantasy, humor, and mystery because my manuscript has elements of all three. But I was sticking to middle grade. That meant my YA pile kept growing and growing. Now that I'm in between writing and revising, I'm diving into those YA books and attempting to get somewhat caught up.

But, I can't not write. (Great wording there, I know!) I have to always be working on something. If I don't write everyday, I feel naked. Well, I've been choosing to write nonfiction, which is about the furthest thing from my middle grade fantasy. But I really like the change of pace. It's helping me clear my head of my story and characters. I will admit that I do miss my beloved characters though.

What do you do when you're between projects? How do you fill the time between drafting and revising?