A needed break

So I went camping this weekend and was fully prepared to write my life away with laptop and modes of charging said laptop and notebooks in case said laptop decided it didn't want to charge. But when I got there, I had no desire to write. Instead, I was content to sit around the fire and talk with my family and enjoy being outside.

I have two thoughts on what this could mean: a) I needed a short break from the frenzied pace I've been writing the past few weeks, or b) I've lost my mojo/writing juices/stamina.

Now it very well could be a combination of the two, but I'm leaning more toward option a. The reason for that is sometimes when I get excited about a project, I tend to go full-speed-ahead no matter what else may be in the way. I tend to be a hyper-focused person who likes to charge in and get things done. When I get an itch to write, I don't like it when people interrupt that. It really annoys me, in fact.

But life has a way of interrupting my plans, and that usually involves me wearing myself out to the point where I get sick. I've been feeling really worn out since January when I started getting stomach bugs and the full-fledged flu, but still I pressed on with my various writing projects. Even when I started getting sick a few weeks ago, I kept at my writing efforts.

This single-mindedness can get things done, but it can also be a detriment to my already-precarious health. Besides, I was getting stuck as to what my characters were to do immediately, anyway, so a little time and distance can help move things along.

I'm definitely going to jump back into writing starting tomorrow, but I think writers in general can benefit from taking a break and completely forgetting what the latest writing project is. We get so wrapped up in our imaginary worlds, we sometimes forget that there is a real one surrounding us that needs our attention as well.

So, the point of all this is that I'm pretty sure I haven't lost anything other than time in my little break and have instead gained some sanity and needed distance and perspective on the whole project.