Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a situation similar to what I’m experiencing this week. After spending a few months researching a new writing project and working hard to write a grand opening, I was able to turn in twenty-four pages for workshop. To say I’m eager to receive notes is an understatement, but I will have to wait until next week. Now comes the decision of whether to continue with the project in the meantime, or await workshop notes until trudging forward. If I believe in the workshop process, which I do, I should probably wait to receive notes. That said, it means a whole week in which I’m not working on the project. I’m itching to continue, but will have to let it simmer. Conundrum, conundrum, you say?
Not so. Why not take this time to turn an eye onto another project? Something on the backburner, something that deserves a bit of the spotlight, something in a completely different vein. A week away from the project is just what I need to look at it with fresh eyes. Working on a different project in the interim will keep my creative skills sharp and leave me more options in the future. The project I choose in the interim isn’t intended to steal focus away from my main project, but if I give it the attention it deserves, who knows, it could become the next main project.
In short, don’t turn a break from one project into a break from writing, altogether. Writing should be happening all the time.
-nm
[tags]new project, taking a break from writing, conundrum, Monty Python[/tags]