4 Ways to Start Writing Again After A Vacation

Just back from the beach!
And I need to get back to my writing. Here’s 4 ways I try to do that.

  1. Email. Yes, I catch up with email. It’s writing. It’s composing ideas, organizing them, prioritizing which to answer now and which to hold off until later in the week–in short, writing emails is writing. It stretches the fingers out on the keyboard and sharpens my mind to start thinking about what constitutes good writing.
  2. ReRead. The second thing I’ll do today is reread what I’ve written so far on my novel. In fact, I expect the week’s break–we should always take a break from a piece of writing–will show me many things that need work. So, while I read, I’ll be putting on my editor’s hat and making notes about what needs to be changed and where to go next.
  3. Apply. While on vacation, I also read: novels, how-tos and books of facts. I talked with friends and family about issues in publishing today and issues with my stories. I didn’t take notes, but some things struck me. The turn of a phrase in the novel, an ah-ha! from the how-to, a decision about issues I want to address after conversations. The fall-out from these conversations and readings may take several months to play out, but the week wasn’t a week of inaction or lazy thinking; it was a week of renewed thinking and storing up for action this week.
  4. BIC. Butt-in-chair. What can I say? It works.

4 thoughts on “4

  1. Hmm…I’ll keep this in mind the next time I’m on vacation during a writing fugue, like I was back in May.

    I should be revising right now…

  2. These are some great tips! Especially using vacation time to read up on writing and reflect. This is perfect timing. I’ll probably be going on vacation in a couple of weeks.

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