Take a Break if You Need One
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 6th, 2008 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
We all need to take a break from writing once in awhile. Even though authors say that writers need to write everyday, sometimes the words just don’t happen….at least for me. I’ve been on a hiatus of late and haven’t been writing like I want. I just had to take a break. Now the transition time is over, it‘s back to reality.
In a recent interview, John Grisham told a reporter than he didn’t start writing until late in life, he never took a writing class, he learned how to write from reading lots books. Now he writes at least one page a day. Of course John Grisham is the exception in many ways, but his book wasn’t published until he was 30 and, we wrote about things he knew.
Authors with whom I’ve traveled over the years have similar stories. Many didn’t start writing until they were adults, they had no formal training, and they try and write something every day. Regardless of whether or not they ever use their daily writing, they write. The best way to learn to write is to write, as much as possible.
A very close friend of mine told me the other day that if you encounter writers block, change your environment. Move to another room in your house or even go to the park or a library. Don’t allow your surroundings to create a block to your writing.
If you want to read a really great book on writers block, read WRITE. 10 Days to Overcome Writer’s Block. Period. Written by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D. The quote on the cover is from Kurt Vonnegut, “As well researched and helpful a book on writing as I’ve ever read.”
Bottom line, take a break if you need to take one. Don’t force it, for me, that didn’t work. Hopefully I will continue to be energized by all of you. If you have a writers block story you’d like to share please send it to me.
This blog is unedited, please disregard mistakes in spelling and grammar.
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