Take a Break

One thing that gets overlooked a lot by authors (and people in general) is the idea of taking a break. Many people, myself included, are constantly doing something. I forget that sometimes it's okay to just sit and be. Just exist in space without needing to be constantly doing something or writing something. This isn't my strong suit and even when I am not actively writing, I'm world-building or plotting or fretting about not doing anything. I fret a lot when I'm not doing something. I feel like if I'm not writing, world-building, or planning, then I'm not doing anything but taking up space and wasting my life.

I am doing my best to overcome that belief. 

Everyone needs a break sometimes and even though I love writing and feel wrong when I don't, sometimes, it's nice to just not do anything. Sometimes, it's nice to just write for me with no intention of sharing it. And sometimes, it's nice to take a break from writing and create characters. 

I've mentioned before that I love tabletop role-playing games. Monster of the Week, World of Darkness, and Dungeons & Dragons are my favorites. I'm currently running a campaign for Monster of the Week and, during a break from the game, decided to create a Dungeons & Dragons character. I usually act as the Dungeon Master so this character would just be one that could be tossed in as an NPC (non-player character) if I need one in a pinch. 

Well, I don't know when to quit and, even though the concept for the character was to have him be a reference to a character from the novel Mo Dao Zu Shi which I've mentioned on here before, soon enough he was a fully-fleshed out character ready to be played. I even had some of his family figured out. That led to me writing out his whole history as well as the history for the tyrant mentioned in his background. It was a long, long process and rather fun.

Will I ever use this character or the campaign that sprang up around him? Maybe. That isn't the point. The point was, I took a break from working on any writing project and let my brain wander and focus on what it wanted. 

I didn't just sit and do nothing, but it was a restful break from focusing on writing projects. 

So, the point of today's post is to remember to take breaks. Yes, there are authors and professors who advise that you write something every day even if you delete it, but that isn't sound advice for everyone. Some people get burned out writing all the time. 

Remember to take breaks. Read a book. Watch a movie, especially one that you've seen a hundred times and wouldn't mind watching a hundred more. Find a new show to start watching. Listen to music. Go for a walk. Just let your mind wander and rest. 

When your mind wanders, you might find that you get another idea in your head, just a scene for something different from what you're working on. That's fine. Even though this goes against what I said before about not writing, write it down and chase the idea like a dog chasing a ball. If this is on your mind, write it to get it out. Follow the idea to see where it leads. Then, when you're done with your break, you'll be more energized to return to your project.

It is okay to just exist. You don't have to keep writing constantly, especially if you're starting to feel sick of it. At that point, take a break. If a break for you means writing to a different idea or creating characters for a role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons, then do that and give your brain a rest.