In my July post, I shared that I was going to give myself a writing vacation. No writing blog posts, revising manuscripts or developing first drafts. I have a lot of writing projects at different stages of development, but I was not anxious to work on any of them. My writing time was going to be reallocated to summertime fun and travel. I was going to give the written word a rest.
During my writing hiatus, I visited with friends, went to museums, read more and travelled. I also spent way too many hours stuck in airports—travelling over 15,000 miles in the month.
In an attempt at full disclosure, I have to admit that I did jot down some notes during the month. As I traveled the country or roamed my
hometown, I jotted down ideas, quotes, and books that piqued my interest. These ideas may become seeds of a new project
or tidbits added to a manuscript I need to finish. Even my impatience with airport delays was
somewhat alleviated by observing fellow travelers whose antics became scribbles
in my notebook.
As writers, I think it is important to allow the space and
time for new ideas to be sprinkled into one’s life. When dealing with the pressures of deadlines
or the struggles of revision an occasional writing vacation can help generate
new ideas.
After a writing break, try the following tips to get back on track.
After a writing break, try the following tips to get back on track.
- Summarize any notes from the writing vacation and save them in a file
- Read your unfinished writing projects
- Assess the next step for each project
- Prioritize your writing projects
- Establish and track your writing goals.
- Try using a goal setting/tracking app.
This fall, I’ve decided to try lifetick, a new goal tracking
app. I let you know if it helps me
re-focus and stay on track.
Mary Jo Guglielmo is writer and intuitive life coach. For more information check out:
http://facebook.com/DoNorth.biz
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