Rest a bit

Nineteen weeks after the first day of the second new year

Author has already said this in her first don’ts and dos list. She suggested that you take a bit of rest once in a while, and that’s something she wants to go back to today.

It’s not easy to take a break. The work authors do tends to stay with them at all times. Whatever story you’re working on, it’s alive in your mind. There’s something pulling at you, isn’t there, to finish it, to find out what happens next and to write down that part and then go on to the next chapter, the next part of the story, until it’s stretched out before you in its entirely, and if there are junctions you reach where you’re not sure where to go, if there are twists in the story that elude you, you can’t let go until you figure them out. It’s your story, you’re creating a world, a reality, lives in your mind. It’s intriguing, riveting, energizing. How can you stop?

And once you’re done with the content, the preparation of your story for publication takes time and effort, with quite a bit of technical work involved, that can be quite taxing. But once that’s done, and with a new story ahead, with your imagination already revving up again, it’s easy to rush forward, to follow the anticipation of writing a new story. And the reality of just having had your previous book published adds to the excitement, pushing you on to write the next one, to publish another. You either don’t notice the weariness and growing attrition, or are disregarding their signs. It’s easy to forget how worn out you were yesterday if you’re all excited about starting a new book today.

Even without your story pushing at you to continue, without that unceasing need you have to write, taking a break isn’t easy. You have so much  on your plate. You need to learn what’s needed for you to be the kind of writer you want to be, and you’re still just starting and are probably worried that you won’t be able to write multiple books or to write as well as you want to and as well as you need to in order to make a decent living from your work and in order not to let down all those people who believe in you. These and a million and one other related worries that accompany you from the moment you decide to become a writer until confidence kicks in, and a whole lot needs to happen before that, well, happens.

And then there’s life, the day-to-day tasks you need to take care of, family that needs your attention, maybe a job you’re still holding and that takes a chunk of your time. Life is a lot to juggle and finding a moment of calm is challenging even on a slow day. So trying to take time off, to relax between that and having stories alive in your mind and books that need a whole lot of work before they can be published and when you have no idea if you will ever succeed can be rather challenging.

But the problem is that rest is important. Doing something different than writing is important. Your mind works hard when you write—and when you prepare a book for publication once the story itself is ready—and it can get tired, worn out, entangled in itself. That can happen to anyone, no matter how much they love what they do. And it can impede your creativity. And since creativity is your most important asset, if it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to this will ultimately impede your ability to do what you’ve set out to do, write.  Not only that, bringing a book from thought to publication requires paying attention to a wide range of a whole lot of details along the way, and it’s easy to miss those when your mind is tired. No one is perfect, no one expects you to be perfect, but you are expected to do the best you can, and an exhausted mind is far from best.

Author could suggest you stop in between stories, between the publication of one book and the start of another. Not for long, it’s not a good idea for you to stay away from your work for long if you’re a beginning author. And not only because you need to publish books in order to establish a solid readership, but also because you’re still learning and still gaining experience, and taking an extended break is not a good idea when you haven’t fully assimilated what you need to know yet. And then again, there are also all those worries Author has mentioned, and all those other responsibilities. Anything close to a vacation would be pretty much impossible, wouldn’t it?

And so while it’s not easy to take time for a proper rest, certainly not a lengthy one or one that would give you a proper reprieve, the occasional short one, of the type that can more easily be taken even in a busy life, can do something to energize you until you can take a proper break. It could keep attrition at bay. A moment of laughter and a couple of chocolate cookies with a loved family member. An outing with a friend. A swim, a bit of exercise to unwind your tense muscles. Watching a good movie or, yes, reading a good book by your favorite author. Anything that can give you a moment of something else, that can add even if only an ounce of whatever it is that can reduce the tension in your mind, will do, at least until you can do more.

A tip? It’s in the post this time. An emphasis, though: find that bit of relaxation that would suit you, even if you don’t feel you need it yet. Especially if you don’t need it yet. Best to start early, and not let tension accumulate and attrition creep in and take a hold before you know it. This would only reduce how much you enjoy your work. Don’t let it happen.