Put your hands up, and step awaaaay from the manuscript
Yea, yea, I know. Technically it’s “put up your hands,” but a cop would never say that, c’mon.
I surrender. I keep reading the same paragraph over and over again. Then I do something else, sit at the computer and read it again. It needs to be rewritten but I’m burnt out over it, so I’m stopping for weekend. I’ve already revamped my self-imposed deadline — 2nd draft by end of February — with the agent quest to begin some time in March. But for any of that to happen I will need to move forward. I’m not even really reading the chapter I’m in anymore — because I know it by heart. It’s one of the tougher ones, and I need a break.
I’ve read about authors who finish a ms and put it on a shelf for a while before they revisit it. I don’t feel like I have that luxury. (funny how luxuries are relative, huh?) But a few days will do me good. I can work on other things, take my mind on a hike and come back without feeling pressure.
Have you ever given yourself a much-needed break from a WIP? Did you come back stronger? Did you regret it? Do tell.
Oh yes, I strongly agree with stepping away from the MS for a bit. Hopefully a couple days will be enough for you, but it’s hard to see something in a new light when you have it memorized. I’m working on my synopsis now (sort of) and wrote the whole thing without referencing the Word document once.
Have you tried reading it with a specific question in mind, like what is the MC’s purpose in this chapter?, or something like that? That’s a horrible example, but hopefully you know what I mean.
YES! Run! Grab and book, watch a movie… enjoy the whole weekend. You’ll be surprised at how fresh it’ll be when you come back to it in a couple of days.
Removal from the WIPs presence is necessary. If you don’t get some distance sometimes, you don’t have brain space enough for fresh ideas, angles or ideas to move in. Good luck, and hear ya!
Procratination will enforce breaks when I really need them. But when I take a break, I have to read from the very beginning to get back in the flow of things. This takes a long time when you pass the 20K mark!
I don’t take too many breaks.
If I’m having too much trouble with one scene in a WIP, sometimes I’ll skip ahead to another scene in the story. It’s often easier for me to look at the work as a whole than to go scene by scene.
That only works if you’re making stylistic changes though, like with grammar and word choice. It can obviously mess you up if you need to change the plot.
I take breaks as well, but I try not to stay away from my work for more than a week or two. Otherwise, I’ll start getting ideas for another novel!
I gave myself a week off after I finished my novel, and I’m glad I did. Gave me some distance from the work and allowed me to do a bit of research that I needed to do, as well.
Oh Amy, if you’ve memorized the chapter, definitely walk away – far, far away – DAYS away. Seriously, you have to re-read it cold as if you’ve never seen it before. Lucky for me, age has a way of erasing everything I’ve read within the last day, so when I step away and return, my work is a complete surprise.