Downtime Is Good For Us

Well, yesterday I published my adult book.  That last day, where you finally hit the button and put your book out there, is such an emotional roller coaster.  There’s an excitement when the book goes live and you know people can read it.

As a celebration, I took today off and went to the zoo with my guy.  The week of publishing is busy, with getting details done, proofreading, getting covers designed, and more.  Some people say a writer should write every single day.  While I do write almost daily, even if it’s just for fun on personal stories, I’ve also found that some time off is valuable, too.  

I don’t generally put a lot of importance on things we should “always” or “never” do, because our needs change.  Sometimes we discover that we need to do things differently, or that there are better ways to do things for us, personally.  I’ve found that breaking up my writing during the day makes me more productive and keeps my brain fresh, while other people will sit and write in one burst.  I work on multiple stories at once, so a break between each story helps.

Having a day off occasionally is also good for my productivity.  I love writing, absolutely adore it, but I also enjoy celebrating my hard work.  It’s perfectly okay to take some time to relax and unwind.  I know I’ll be back to writing tomorrow, because I’m a writer.  It’s what I do and love, and I can’t imagine going too many days without writing.  Still, I give myself today as a gift to myself.  No expectations, no plans, just any little writing I may do because I want to, like this blog post.

Here’s to another book!  It’s under another pen name, since my primary audience is people under 18, but it was fun to write and I love the characters.  As a celebration, I’ll share one of my favourite pictures from the zoo, taken a few years ago.