I’m on deadline.

What that means is,  writing is mandatory for me. I have a title for my manuscript. A word count. Most importantly, I have a due date. And yes, barring some unforseen catastrophe such as an alien invasion or Godzilla rampaging through Colorado Springs, I will meet my deadline. (I am not thinking about any real disasters that can happen to writers everywhere.)

But let me honest with you: there are days I don’t feel like writing.

I write anyway.

And there are days I got nothing.

I write anyway.

And then there was last Sunday.

I woke up facing my deadline, just like I had so many other days.

And I ignored my manuscript. All. Day. Long.

Why? I needed a break from the story. I’d written hard, day after day, getting up early and staying up late.

But taking a break didn’t mean I wasn’t writing. Even on those “I can’t write days,” there is always something to write.

When you can’t write big , write small.

Sometimes you need a short break from your manuscript: an hour or part of a day. Write something else. On “I can’t write” days,  I write my regularly scheduled blog posts for In Others’ Words. Or my upcoming My Book Therapy posts (like this one). Or posts for the inspirational contemporary romance group blog, Inspy Romance. Or requested guest posts.

When you can’t write, rewrite.

I love fast-drafting: write forward, write fast. Fall in love with your story. Discover things about your characters by the end of the story that you didn’t know at the beginniing of the story — and then weave those elements back through the story. 

But . . . if I have a day when I stall out on my novel, I will reignite my spark by going back just for a few dedicated hours. I print out my manuscript and I reread what I’ve written. And yes, I allow myself to pick up a red pen — or maybe a fun purple one — and mark up the scenes. I’ll ask myself questions like:

• What’s my Story Question?
• What’s the the main emotion for this scene?
• Have I used all five senses? Where’s the spiritual truth?

Before I dive back into my manuscript, I weave the new developments back into the story — the Aha! spiritual truth moments or the fun pins I might have found on Pinterest when I spent a little bit of time developng my character by figuring out oh, yeah, she’s into boots! Taking time away from the a full length manuscript refreshes me so that I’m ready to write again.