In a new blog post, Tiffany Yates Martin says that writers – like all human beings – occasionally need to take a break. “Creativity is such an intrinsic part of who creatives are, it can feel as if it’s our whole identity,” she says. “This kind of passion and dedication aren’t bad in and of themselves—but we need to know when to put it down and focus on other parts of life.”
The winter holiday season is often the best time for such a break. “I have responsibilities I must still meet, and I am, but I’m giving myself the freedom to not push myself harder than I have to right now,” Yates Martin writes. “It’s rather glorious.”
She quotes from the book Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, who says that rest is not the opposite of work, but an important element of it. Rest also means not thinking about your writing or meditating on an idea or plot problem you haven’t worked through. “Yes, that kind of passive creativity is crucial,” Yates Martin says. “But it too should be stepped away from sometimes.”
So take a break.
