The Write-Less Writer
by Stephanie Romero
For some, writing is therapeutic. For others it is the way to fulfill a dream or even to earn a living. And if there is one bit of advice that many writers will give you, it is to write every single day.
However, I tend to think differently. I believe we need to set aside one day every week where we don’t write. Too much thinking, too many words swirling in your mind can suck away at your creativity.
I think this is especially true for those writers who make a living doing it. Monday through Friday I am working on my paid writing assignments. Saturdays I find myself writing a newsletter, my weekly blog, a book review and the list goes on.
Despite how much I love writing, I sometimes find myself being consumed by the written word. By taking one day a week (which for me is Sunday), to banish all thoughts of writing from my mind, helps me to feel refreshed come Monday morning.
I use my one-day-a-week to be a “write-less” writer. I may partake in any number of activities from attending church, to spending time with family, reading a book or watching a couple of movies.
While I don’t write on this one day there are times when an idea pops into my head. I jot it down. But I don’t go to my computer and start typing away. If it’s a good enough idea, I will be able to formulate it into something useful later on.
The idea of being a “write-less” writer for one day a week may sound unimaginable for some. But for others it can actually be freeing. You may have even felt guilty about not wanting to write 7 days a week. Give yourself permission to unplug the word machine from your brain and allow it to rest.
Give yourself permission to be a “write-less” writer one day a week.
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Stephanie Romero works as an independent contractor writing web content for law firms. In addition she is a regular blogger at Families.com (http://www.families.com/hizchozen/), editor/writer for the independent parties’ site at Bella Online – The Voice of Women (http://www.bellaonline.com/site/independentparties), and the author/instructor for an online course, “Recovery from Abuse” (http://vu.ksurf.net/catalog/5824.html). In her spare time she works on her personal blog (http://stephaniesromero.blogspot.com/) and encourages women to live their dream (http://stephanieromero.wordpress.com/).
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Stephanie Romero
For some, writing is therapeutic. For others it is the way to fulfill a dream or even to earn a living. And if there is one bit of advice that many writers will give you, it is to write every single day.
However, I tend to think differently. I believe we need to set aside one day every week where we don’t write. Too much thinking, too many words swirling in your mind can suck away at your creativity.
I think this is especially true for those writers who make a living doing it. Monday through Friday I am working on my paid writing assignments. Saturdays I find myself writing a newsletter, my weekly blog, a book review and the list goes on.
Despite how much I love writing, I sometimes find myself being consumed by the written word. By taking one day a week (which for me is Sunday), to banish all thoughts of writing from my mind, helps me to feel refreshed come Monday morning.
I use my one-day-a-week to be a “write-less” writer. I may partake in any number of activities from attending church, to spending time with family, reading a book or watching a couple of movies.
While I don’t write on this one day there are times when an idea pops into my head. I jot it down. But I don’t go to my computer and start typing away. If it’s a good enough idea, I will be able to formulate it into something useful later on.
The idea of being a “write-less” writer for one day a week may sound unimaginable for some. But for others it can actually be freeing. You may have even felt guilty about not wanting to write 7 days a week. Give yourself permission to unplug the word machine from your brain and allow it to rest.
Give yourself permission to be a “write-less” writer one day a week.
* * *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 comments:
Great post, Stephanie! Everything in moderation - including moderation!
I agree- I think a regular break from anything we do on a daily basis, is a good idea. Thanks for the reminder:)
I am SO with you on this! It seems like writing is the only thing where people say, "You MUST do it every day." That's silly! Creative work especially requires rest and breaks! My best inspiration comes when I have stepped away for a while. Thanks for saying this out loud!
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