I am a strong proponent of establishing and keeping a writing practice. I am an equally strong advocate for taking a break from it. Rest is needed, no, required.
rest
I Won’t Quit
In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing. — Vincent Van Gogh
A few days ago, I contemplated quitting the Write Right blog for a while. Take a sabbatical. Leave it to its own devices.
Breaking a Wild Mustang
Your writing is like you: wild. It has to be tamed.
Sit Down. Rest a While.
You. You down in front. The one tapping your pen against your knee. The one rushing to and fro making sure everyone has a seat and has everything they need for the duration of this speech or film or whatever it is that you’re attending. You. Sit down. Rest a while. Put the pen in your purse or your pocket. Let the other people be. You sit down. You rest.
Choose Rest
Some days, you need to rest. You have to call a time out. You don’t write. You don’t read. You don’t draw. You don’t listen to music unless music is something that helps you rest. You don’t watch movies. You’re quiet. You crawl beneath the covers or a blanket and sleep. You need to feel human again. You need to feel like yourself again, and the only way you know to do that is to take a break from everything and give yourself the rest you desperately need.