Taking A Break

What's that saying - you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. It's a bit like sitting a writer down at a keyboard and then saying, go on then, write a book. Fine in theory but if the well's dry then...

This brings me to my next non-water-based comment - I'm taking a break. 

I love being a writer. I still can't quite believe that I've published in double figures. And I love sharing my knowledge with other indie authors and aspiring writers. But I have been finding it increasingly hard to 'find time' for writing. 

This constant quest to sit down and bang out the next book is actually making me feel ill. And guilty. All the guilt. I have never been one of those write everyday authors. I don't do getting up at sparrows fart or staying up until the cows come home in order to write. I am, and probably always will be, a here and there, fits and starts kinda writer. And that's fine. But right now, I am a writer on a break.

When I first mooted the idea of having a break - with myself - I was instantly thrown into a guilt-ridden pit of despair. You can't be a writer if you're not writing. And if you're not writing then what are you good for? What's your purpose? Where's your worth?

That did my mental health the world of good. And yet I still wasn't able to 'find the time' to write. Everything else became way more important and I was the self-crowned queen of procrastination. I think I kinda always will be, but that's another story.

So here I am, about to step into March with less than 10000 words written total on my WIP which I started last year. And here I am deciding to take a knee. So to speak.

I have several training courses to go through. 

I have let a lot of self-publishing/indie-author tasks slide so it's time to get my house in order. Once I've had a break first.

I didn't stop through lockdown. I didn't stop when I was pregnant or when my daughter was recently born. Now however, I need to stop. To coin a phrase, I have no spoons left. 

I am actually at the beginning of my second week of taking a break and already I've found the energy to do some of the tasks that have been on my I'll get to it eventually list. So I know this is what I should be doing for myself. Do I feel guilty? Of course I do but at the end of the day I am still a writer, even if I'm not writing right now, this second. 

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.