Hi friends! I’m back from my week-long vacation into the foothills of the mountains – and the AirB&B was right next to a cow pasture!
Here’s a beautiful sunset:
And a breathtaking waterfall:
All in all, the vacation was amazing. And guess what? I took a week-long break from drafting my book!
I desperately needed it.
My characters weren’t cooperating, everything was looking super bleak, and I had just crossed the 50k word count and was exhausted. Exhausted. But the huge break worked. I came back from the mountains, rolled up my sleeves, and dived right back in to my messy first-draft-in-progress. And the words finally flowed.
So don’t be afraid to step back for a little bit. Sometimes a different perspective, a change of scenery, some fresh air, and time with family is what you really need. And that book isn’t going anywhere! Those characters will always be speaking to you until you’re ready to say goodbye; those next words will always be lingering on the back of your mind, waiting for you to spill them onto a page.
Finally, as a last note – inspiration can come from anywhere. Honestly, the idea for my WIP came when I was in the car, bored to death. So take a walk. See a friend. Go some places. Don’t exhaust your mind until you’re numb, don’t stare at that empty page until you’ve practically driven yourself to insanity. One of the best things you can do is take a step back. Let your mind wander, let your imagination spark. Because the only thing that can stop you from writing is you. And that’s the last thing you want to do.