Random Writing Tip #12: Rest
Cats are masters at resting. Look at Jasmine. Resting.
(Photo mine)
Getting caught up in a piece is great.Slogging to the end of a piece is, in some ways, better.
But what happens if you get stuck along the way? What happens if trying to move forward with the writing feels a lot like bashing your head against a wall?
I’m a firm believer in pushing through, pushing yourself, and not letting things stand in your way. It’s important to recognise that that’s not always the best thing to do.
Sometimes, you have to recognise that forcing the writing isn’t going to be the best thing for you or your writing. Sometimes, forging ahead regardless can lead your story down the wrong path, or bog it down as your disgruntlement bleeds through, or make you hate it as much as you’re hating the process of writing it.
Sometimes, you just need a break. Step back. Take a breath. Close your eyes and let the words fall away. Rest.
Sometimes you have to find the right way to ‘rest’.
(Photo mine)
The same goes for when you reach the end of a piece. You’ve finished the first draft, so now what?
The next step is to re-draft it, edit it, tidy it up. The problem is, you don’t know if it’s any good. Trust me, you don’t: you’re too close to it. So how do you see it clearly enough to know what you need to fix?
Step back. Know that getting to the end was the first stage, and that the second is to put it down. Take a break.
Let yourself rest. Let the piece rest.
Close the file and put it away. Tuck it in a drawer, file it away in a folder on your desktop. Put it where you won’t see it. Put yourself in danger of forgetting about it.
Try not to think about it for a while. How long? That’s up to you, but at least a week. If you can, a couple of months. The longer the piece and the longer you’ve been working on it, the more time you should allow yourself before going back to it.
It may not be graceful, but if it works, it works!
(Photo mine)
Do something different. Clean the house. Join a gym. Paint a self-portrait. Do some spring-cleaning.
A change can be as good as a rest, so you could write something else. Occupy your brain with something different. Try not to think about the thing you’re resting.
When you come back to it, you’ll surprise yourself. You’ll see things you couldn’t before. You’ll have fresh eyes and fresh ideas. Some ideas may have cropped up during your rest, blossoming the moment you weren’t looking any more.
Then you can get to work and do wonderful things with your words. So do it! Rest, and then kick ass.
(Note: yes, these cats are all mine. From the top, it’s Jasmine, Cinnamon, and Honey.)
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