What I learned from not writing during the holidays

It’s the start of the year and, like everyone else, I’m still going through the post holiday blues. It was quite refreshing not to have to do anything for three weeks. No work. No chores. Just a semi-lazy holiday with the family. I didn’t even write a single thing.

Not. A. Single. Word.

For those who write every single day, this is probably a bit of a shock. How could I not write at all for three weeks? I had my laptop with me. I had nothing to do. Why not write?

The short answer is that I didn’t want to. Yes, I could have. It wasn’t like my fingers weren’t working. But I decided to take a break – just for a couple of weeks. Still, it wasn’t for nothing. Here, I’m going to tell you the three biggest lessons I learned from my hiatus.

It’s okay not to write

I didn’t explode in rashes or had nightmares. I didn’t feel guilty. It was really okay not to be writing and I was surprised by that. I thought I was going to go on a full on panic mode. I’ve never not written during the holidays before. But even though I wasn’t writing, I was still pretty much in the world of books. I finished almost four books while on a break, which for me is a big miracle. I love reading but finding the time to read is quite difficult with a full schedule. It was a nice feeling to be reading again during the day, while sipping mango smoothie by the pool.

Everything old is exciting again

I have to admit, the current book I’m writing is taking a toll on me. It’s my fault, really (and I’ve mentioned this during a recent writing workshop). I made my life difficult by not deciding beforehand whether or not the series was going to be just two books or three or four. Because I decided at the last minute, there were more things I had to look out for to close the final book in the series. Again, it was my fault. Plan your series. Plan it way ahead of time. Don’t do what I did. Because the last book was a lot of work, I dragged my feet finishing it. But now that I left it to stew for a while, I am excited to get back into it and finish the last four chapters.

I saw the end

I may have not written anything but it doesn’t mean my characters left me alone. My mind basically plotted how the book would end while I was falling asleep each night. And the surprising thing was it was a good ending. I didn’t write it down, of course. I was drifting off to sleep and didn’t have the strength to pick up my phone to take down notes. But I think I remember most of it. I hope. If not, I may have to get hypnotized to remember it. I wish I could just plug in my brain to my computer sometimes. Saves me a lot of typing.

I’m back now, touching my keyboard again (I think my laptop felt unwanted). I am looking forward to finishing this project this month (eek!). Let’s do this! Happy new year everyone!