Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The problem with taking a break.

I decided to get my creativity going again by working on something else. Just for a while.

Right.

Optimistic thought of the century.

See... I decided to just write a single scene to open Guardian. For those of you that don't know, Guardian is the book that occurred to me a few months back. I shelved it pending the completion of Doorways.

I never stated which draft of Doorways to be completed. Yes people. I am a genius at finding loopholes.

Anyway. I wrote it out and got hit by the clearest voice I've ever had. Really. It's literally as if I'm tuning into Arian's mind. Not that her mind isn't a scary place. She's bitter and more than just a little cynical.

I know for a fact what part of me she comes from, though. Which makes it a bit uncomfortable. Like a mother looking at her child and seeing that the kid got all of her personality traits. Including the worst ones.

Still. She does intrigue me. Not as much as, say... Darrion. But then... Darrion is in a league all of his own. 

I just hope that I didn't open Pandora's box now. I still want to rewrite Doorways. As quickly as possible.  It won't do to have Arian chattering away while I'm trying to tune into Callan or the others.

On the other hand... I think it might be a good idea to rest Doorways until I can look at it without shaking. If that is even possible. But if I am to rest Doorways with a hope of getting back to it, it might be a better idea to stick to small projects like short stories and poetry. IF... I could get my brain wired that way for a while.

Fact is that my mind is geared to writing novels.

That's it. Time for a change. I am going to write a poem a day until I can say my mind is geared to anything literary.

Maybe I'll even post a few. IF... they aren't too terrible.

What do you do to give your mind a rest before rewrites?

12 comments:

  1. Hey there, I just found your blog about ten minutes ago. =) We're in very similar situations, rewriting. It's tough. When I need a rest, I go to the second book, which has a different cast of characters, and try to get something done there. I daydream. I play/listen to music. I reread Harry Potter, or something similar. Then get back to it and get crackin'. Good luck! =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey there. :-) Welcome to my blog.

    My sympathies on the rewrite issues.

    I'll definitely give your suggestions a try. Thanks lots. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's great that you tapped in so quick. That's a book waiting to be written!

    If you want to gear your brain into rewriting Doorways, maybe you should try writing out small scenes of the past or playing with future scenes? So you're still working on it, getting closer and closer to your characters, but also distancing yourself from the main text.

    I've never had to take a break, not to that stage yet, so I can't really give any suggestions :( Sorry

    ReplyDelete
  4. I must say that I was impressed with that. My daily goal was 700 words. (The program I use has a progress bar a la NaNo.) I wrote 1200 instead. Not bad at all.

    Playing with past and particularly future scenes is an awesome idea. After all, there are three books after Doorways.

    How's your book getting along? I heard you changed your goal.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I drink heavily. (just kidding) No, a great thing to do is to catch up on your reading! It's like a break, without actually being a break!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I generally do mindless tasks. Sometimes not thinking is exactly what my brain needs before I start putting it to work again. Lets the creativity seep back in and get my imagination nice and juicy.

    But, the only time I had to rewrite... I don't think it was quite the same as what you're going through.

    Good luck on the poems! (And other such works.)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't know how to give my mind a rest, so I don't.

    Until I have a breakdown because my mind forces the issue.

    Not recommending this, but it works. -ish.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love your outlook on muses and the process in general. I face a lot of the same issues. I saw someone above suggested music, which always helps. Sometimes a long nature walk or a hot soak in a tub with candlelight helps to recharge those batteries. Best of luck to you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I usually take walks. And then I read a familiar book I love.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's hard for me to downshift. Even when I'm on a "break", I'm still thinking, thinking, thinking about the book!

    Reading other people's books helps. And movies. And shopping. And eating. And talking to non-writer friends about non-writing things (which I definitely don't do as much as I should).

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's a good idea, Samantha. Also, it's a great excuse to read. ;-P

    Devin that's a good idea. Doing something mindless so that my creativity can run around wild. Now... to find something mindless to do...

    Lol Nevets I can imagine how and why that would work, but I must admit that I would prefer to keep my break-down count to one a year. True, the year is almost over, but if I snap in February... ;-)

    Thanks for the lovely complement Adriana. Welcome to my blog. :-)

    Golden walks are really good, but for some reason I tend to be a one-time reader. Especially with my favorite books. I guess it's because I'm afraid of ruining the memory by not having the same experience second time around. I'm weird like that. :-)

    Jennifer I know exactly what you mean. Now that I promised myself a break, I am constantly thinking (perhaps obsessing) about writing. It's driving me insane. All of the tips you mentioned are great ways to take a break. I almost laughed myself silly at the last one. I have plenty of non-writer friends... I talk to them a lot. But staying away from topics literary can be a challenge... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'll work on short stories, or I'll do pre-writing things for another novel. Sometimes I'll do non-writing things like work on my photography. And, I do these things anytime I need a break from a current project, whether it's between rewrites or just because I need a few days away from it.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! I love to read what you think.

Feel free to ignore the check-box saying "Prove you're not a robot." My word verification is off, but I moderate comments to posts older than two weeks.