Even going through a recent dry period, where daily writing turned out such horrible drivel that it put me in a tailspin - something else was going on. After a few months of absolutely dreadful writing, I realized that I needed to either take a break, or give up on it completely. Yes, first drafts are supposed to need repair, but this was to the extreme.
So I took a break, and just went to work and organized drawers and did laundry. But here's what happened: During that break time, stuff kept coming to me. Good stuff. I had to carry a notebook and pen with me at all times, including in the car, near the shower, in bed with me at night and to the supermarket. Because the stuff that was coming to me was rich and authentic. Whether or not it ended up in the novel, I had to capture it.
This notebook has filled up and amazingly, I'm now ready to go back to the writing. I don't have to force it now because I loosened my grip on the process.
Upon re-reading what I wrote before this break, I see that it was flippant.It wasn't grounded.
After taking this break, the whole novel has changed. The plot, characters, and setting are the same - but the voice has matured. And the narrative has deepened. The pacing of the book has evened out.
I have something to go on. I kind of know what I'm going to do now.
Yes, most of the time writer's block needs to be dealt with by simply not allowing it to exist. But sometimes, you have to know when to break the rules. And letting myself leave the keyboard for a few months, writing down dreams and fragments as they occurred, has healed this novel.
Suzann Kale
