WHILE WE HAVE THE GIFT OF LIFE,
IT SEEMS TO ME THE ONLY TRAGEDY IS
TO ALLOW PART OF US TO DIE,
WHETHER IT IS OUR SPIRIT, OUR CREATIVITY,
OR OUR GLORIOUS UNIQUENESS.
(Gilda Radner)
While my oomph and creativity are far from dying, I am feeling rather burned out lately. Coming off NaNo, my creative juices are dried up. Coming off dealing with holiday prep and life's ups and downs in general, my energy has burrowed deep, kind of like the tortoises into their shells when they know they're going to the vet.
I remind myself that all this hibernation is okay...as long as I don't stay asleep for too long. I find it's way too easy for me to wallow in that inertia, to make myself comfortable in that place of blah-ness. So, I give myself permission to take a bit of a break but I also set up some ground rules and a deadline or two. For example: I will write fiction every day. It doesn't have to become a full-fledged story but I'm still working that creative muscle. I will achieve my goal of reading 100 books this year - I'm about 8 away - so I'll be setting aside some reading time for that. And, as the presents are shipped and the cards are sent and the holiday menu is planned, my energy will return, and I will set myself on a course for the new year.
Let's give ourselves a break this week. Let's not add to the craziness by getting down on ourselves for feeling exhausted or drained or uncreative. Embrace the lull, curl up in your shell, rest and renew and rejuvenate. Then we'll be spring forth and shake up our world, our lives. When we're ready.
** My next post will be on Friday...when I'll give away a copy of my flash fiction collection, The People We Used to Be! It's all part of Milo James Fowler's 'Tis More Blessed Giveaway so please come back for a chance to win and to learn about more great giveaways! **
** My next post will be on Friday...when I'll give away a copy of my flash fiction collection, The People We Used to Be! It's all part of Milo James Fowler's 'Tis More Blessed Giveaway so please come back for a chance to win and to learn about more great giveaways! **
I think that this time of year we have all most definitely earned the right to a break :)
ReplyDeleteI agree! And yet I sometimes feel guilty…but I'm working on that. :)
DeleteYeah, it seems like lots of us are feeling a little burned out right now. I'm looking forward to relaxing over the holiday break and getting recharged for the new year. See you Friday!
ReplyDeleteIf I remember right, you've got a good chunk of time off work...enjoy it, Julie!
DeleteSee you back here on Friday. :)
I'm gearing down for the holidays as well. We have to give ourselves permission to enjoy life now and then. Or we risk becoming the crazy!
ReplyDeleteI think that's the trick - giving ourselves permission. It's easy to tell other people to relax, but we rarely ever take our own advice. :)
DeleteI'm all for taking a break. Just as soon as I get those cards sent and those presents bought and wrapped and...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely don't feel guilty!
If anyone needs a break, it's you! :)
DeleteLove Gilda Radner and that's a GREAT quote! I have to have a bit of down time after NaNo, too. I have been able to keep up the pace another month when the work was just longer, but when I finish a book, I sort of scramble for a while before I can land back on a reasonable rhythm. (because you can't do THAT pace indefinitely)
ReplyDeleteThere is no way I could keep up that pace indefinitely, mentally or physically or emotionally. My husband and the tortoises know by now to either hide out or duck inside their shells for the majority of November. :)
DeleteI'm giving myself some time off over the holidays on blogging, but I'm so close to finishing my WIP, I have to keep going on it.
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Susan! Finish the year with a bang. :)
DeleteI'm with you! For months I've been trying to clean out all the boxes in my basement, but right now, with all the Christmas prep, I'm finding it hard to get that done. Yesterday I decided I'd be kind to myself and give myself a break on the boxes until after Christmas. Talk about a weight off!
ReplyDeleteThose boxes aren't going anywhere, Dana. Leave them be. Maybe you can clean them out at the same time you put all the Christmas decorations, etc away. :)
DeleteDefinitely give yourself a break. I'd signed up for NaNo, but only wrote a tiny bit. No motivation. At all. Then come December, I got this idea and in less than three weeks, I have 35,000 words. Kinda annoying, but hey, I got 35,000 words and it's all coming so easily. I'm happy about that.
ReplyDelete35,000 words in early December?! That's great! And I know what you mean about being annoyed it didn't happen in November, but like you said, you've got those words to play with now…and in the new year. :)
DeleteYeah, I'll totally use my time stopper, then pass it to you. Once it's functional. Again.
ReplyDeleteYou're so close to your reading goal! If I count the inspirational magazines I've read this year (cover to cover), and the books I've read a second or fifteenth time, I'm not too far behind you. 90ish books. Now the sad part is, my TBR list is about twice that long. Read as fast and hard as I like, I'll never get ahead of it. Thus the time stopper. =)
If only I had that time stopper! I'd have read waaaaay more than 100 books by now. :)
DeleteDon't get me started on the ever growing TBR list…. :)
I wish I could even think about reading 100 books - I'm fast becoming one of those writers who barely reads, and I hate it. I just don't seem to have time... Yet I'm still buying books as much as ever. Including yours Madeline, which I really liked :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Annalisa! I really appreciate that. :)
DeleteReading almost 100 books has been kind of a stretch though, so I think next year I'll drop the number a bit.