Each year I have participated in an online writing class, the goal of which was to write a novel in 2 and half months.
Each of the three years prior to the present I began writing a novel, duration of which crossed over and continued past the month of November during which NaNoWriMo takes place.
And each year I lost the steam and impulse to write long before reaching 20,000 words or drawing near 80 pages.
Feeling exhausted before I had truly begun, dreariness set in by the time I reached page 100.
Fear loomed the more I struggled to trudge towards page 200.
My eyes watered. I fought to stay awake, I who love writing, and never seeing page 300 in sight.
This year I took a class that focused on planning our novels that we would write during November as participants in NaNoWriMo.
In previous years, while loving the premise of my story, however sketchy it remained in my mind, I hated what I wrote.
This year was different.
Planning and crafting a blueprint for Lotus Blooming, which I wrote on during NaNoWriMo this year played a huge role in my success of reaching the 50,ooo word mark and doing so with relative ease and a whole lot more energy.
And yet my energy dipped but certainly not from a lack of understanding where I was headed. Life intervened, I needed to stop. But I did not lack a compass.
My premise is clear, ever more pristine. I know my plot, not that there have not risen some interesting surprises and discoveries.
So why did I stop writing? Or rather, how could I allow myself to take a break?
Thanksgiving came along. My husband underwent some minor surgery.
Life demanded more of my attention than I felt was fair to the writing of my story.
Rather than write for the sake of writing, I chose to take a break.
How do you handle life’s interruptions on your writing?
Do you plan for breaks during your writing?