Savannah Watson

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Creativity sometimes feels like running on a hamster wheel, chasing some invisible, distant reward. Oftentimes, writers feel like they have no choice but to keep running on the work-wheel until they burn out or run right into the dreaded monster: Writer’s Block. While I am completely guilty of doing this very thing (I think all authors are), I hate that it is common practice…

It is important to take breaks!

Everyone (no matter what job they have) needs to take breaks for so many reasons, but at top of the list is health. Taking time off to step away from your work allows you time to destress (and we all know how bad stress is for mental and physical health). Too much stress can make you susceptible to physical illness and can lead to burn out.

Taking breaks is not only beneficial to a writer’s physical and mental health; it is also critical to creative health. When you take a break from your writing, you give your brain time to not only decompress but also subconsciously process the story. In my experience, the harder I try to think about my stories, the more elusive it becomes. Sometimes, trying to push through writer’s block can actually make it worse!

I think many of us feel as if we need a reason or permission to take a break. It takes away some of the guilt if we can say “I’m not writing right now because of BLANK,” but you don’t really need a reason or excuse. It’s okay to simply take a break without explanation; in fact, it might be benefical to your writing to do so!

So, if you are the type of writer that needs permission to take breaks, I am giving you the permission! Take all the breaks you need, guilt-free.

Just make sure that a break is a BREAK, not quitting! Take breaks, as many as you need for as long as you need, but at some point, make sure you get back to writing! Because writing is what we love to do, after all!

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So, speaking of breaks: I will be taking a short hiatus starting today after this post goes up! I will resume posting on Sunday, August 21st. Thank you all so much for being here to read and participate with me!

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