Don't Be Afraid To Take A Day Off

As we authors plug away at our manuscripts and set goals for how many words we want to write in a day, we sometimes forget it's OK to take a break in the middle of a manuscript.

My job sometimes forces me to take a day off from writing my book, but it's more than just ensuring your commitments outside of writing. Sometimes, it can be beneficial to step away from your writing and get some focus back.

When I first thought of ideas for my book, it usually took place when I was taking a walk, mowing the lawn or shopping for groceries. Taking time to do those things, and not just sitting in front of your notepad or laptop, can be a good way to generate some ideas.

It's good to set goals for how much writing you want to get in a day, especially as you are getting further into your rewrites and edits. But get too caught up in your writing and you might lose sight on certain ideas that can make your story flow better.

Briefly touching upon my book, I have a chapter that will include some scenes that will be written differently from what I originally had in mind. Tonight, when I go out to mow the lawn, I'll have the chance to think about what I want to write, and continue to think about those things when I go out to run errands in the morning. Then, I hope to sit down and write out some of that material.

And, yes, I found it does help to step away from your completed draft for a while, to see if things are really coming together as you want them. But it can help just as much to do it when a draft is underway.

So don't be afraid to take a day off from writing. It might mean one day lost toward how soon you complete your draft, but it could result in greater gain for how strong your draft turns out.