by Rebecca Anderson

Created on: March 01, 2009

It has happened. You have found yourself staring at your writing you are no longer excited with. What to do? You have sharpened your pencils, tested all of your pens, doodled kittens on the edge of your notebook, and have typed out several opening lines for chapter nine, and promptly deleted them.

In all honesty, you have lost your love for the craft. You no longer rush home to bask in the glow that is your computer monitor. Your project has become something that makes you shudder in utter disgust or fear. And that deadline of yours is approaching so quickly, you have taken the stance of a deer in the path of headlights.

This is when it is time to step away from your project, rid yourself of the burden, and go on doing something that makes you smile more than weep. For some of us, a deadline prevents us. For others, it is simply a hobby or a dream that can be put aside for a while to be tended to another day.

When you need a break from your writing, you will know it. You will lose all sense of love that you once shared for the art. The will to write will still be with you, but at the moment, it will be a dim candle rather than the once radiant star.

Another hint may be the quality. If you find yourself reading over something you have written recently, and you are not satisfied with it, then perhaps your muse is begging for a vacation. Do not deny your muse a little off-duty time. As a writer you want to write when you are at your creative high. Your muse going AWOL, or your interest in the craft has simply died-down, will do very little more than starve your writing from what is expects; your very best.

Some of us, however, work under a dead-line. This is very hard to balance, especially with a talent that has become drained. For this, I suggest that the writer learn when it is time to call it a vacation. Perhaps after a few good articles have gone out, wait a while before taking on any more duties. You may want to write, but in my opinion writing is no more than a battery, best used when fully charged.

After you have taken a break, you may find yourself craving for that pen and paper, or keyboard, like never before. Plots, dialogue, articles, all swim around in your mind and you once again become eager to continue with your craft. Now it is safe to do so, and you can be assured that it is time to go to work the way you know best.

Some alternatives to stepping away from writing completely may include writing something different. A new novel, genre, article, subject; anything to get your mind on viewing a fresh idea may be just what the muse ordered. For you creative artists, perhaps a different craft would do you best. This will get your mind off the project dragging you down, but still keep you at your creative best. (Think of this as something like going to the gym on vacation).

You will know when the time is right. Remember to never force yourself to write. When writing becomes a painful chore, it has lost it's artistic nature. And in the end, essentially, you and your readers have lost as well.

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