Hello! Nice to see you again.
As summer comes to a close, I hope you are feeling rested, refreshed, and ready to get back to writing no seriously your book misses you.
Writing breaks are necessary. They’re important. They reacquaint you with such pleasures as nature, friends, family, and rosé.
But it can be tricky to return to writing and get back to a rhythm once you’ve gotten used to that whole “relaxing” thing. You may have been harshly reminded what it was like when you once had something called “free time.”
Don’t beat yourself up! Much like getting back into shape after you haven’t exercised in a while, it’s going to take some time to get back into a writing rhythm.
Here are some posts from the archives that can help you get back on track:
- On distractions
- How to return to writing after a long break
- How to get over writer’s block
- How to keep writing when the s*** hits the fan
- Five ways to stay motivated while writing a novel
- Ten commandments for the happy writer
- The solution to every writing problem that has ever existed
Anything on your mind as we head toward fall? Take to the comments!
Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!
For my best advice, check out my guide to writing a novel (now available in audio) and my guide to publishing a book.
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Art: Horses at the Porch by Albrecht Adam
Good to see you back Nathan. As a recent discoverer of this excellent blog there’s just one little niggling thing I have to comment on. You have a whole Great Library of Alexandria’s worth of very good advice. However, the past ones, i.e. the archive, are difficult to access. The page nos. at the bottom of the blog go from 1 to 310. But to get to page number 50, for example, you seem to have to click through a whole bunch of pages. Each morning I try to read a new old post, but its getting laborious clicking through.
Don’t let all that good stuff be buried!
I agree! I will be working on this in the coming months.
Nathan – Maybe tomorrow you can explain today’s first paragraph….
Not sure I follow…
Nice to see you too, Nathan! But what is this “free time” you speak of?
On my mind: I wish I played more tennis, was better at tennis. I wish I had an easier time with plot and also that I had a good plot. Kelly Link is such a cool writer. I’m scared I’ll wake up and it will be winter and it feels like we just finally finished last winter. I also need to be better at stakes. I just read your stakes post and it helped, but I’m still bad at stakes. Pitchfork seems to think that the new Lana Del Rey is the greatest album ever made. I mean, that review! There are too many things I want to do. I hope that I get over my fear of flying. I’m going to make my entire wardrobe L.L. Bean and commit to a life of practicality. Roger Federer is such a class act. I need to get more sleep. I need to write more.
Thank you for asking and thank you for listening and welcome back and I’m super jealous of all your amazing travels and when is your next book ?!
Hi Nathan, Thanks for an encouraging and helpful post. I’ll add a link to a recent post I wrote for Anne R. Allen. It’s based on new research on creativity from the University of Texas at Austin revealing that simply coming up with ideas—even mediocre ones—and then taking a break to allow an “incubation” period will eventually lead to much better ideas. I hope your readers will find the research and the specific possibilities I suggest helpful in getting writers back into the swing of things.
https://annerallen.com/2019/03/new-research-formula-for-creativity/