Mental Breaks and The Creative Well

Although I gobble up posts about how to write 10,000 words per day, in practice, I find that I’m just not capable of writing that much. Maybe that sentence needs a yet. Or maybe I’ll never be able to do it. What I know now is that my brain is only capable or writing so much in one day and then it just does not want to compose any more. Very. Tired. Thoughts.

Right now, for me, that’s typically between 800 and 2000 words per day, and I’m not going to push myself to write more. Some times when I push myself, I burn out and then wind up taking a writing break, even if I didn’t mean to.

At my critique group holiday dinner grab bag this year, I received a lovely present that will be a great reminder to me of this. It’s a meditation box, filled with all kinds of lovely inspiring and soothing items. I’ve placed them all over my office and used the finger labyrinth several times while thinking yesterday.

I don’t know if it will help my productivity but it is a great reminder to take those mental breaks, which ultimately make my writing better, I think. Plus, it inspired me to have fun with photography. And I believe engaging in other forms of creativity is always replenishing for the creative well. And fun, too.