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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Keeping Creative Without Burning Out

La Méditation by Domenico Feti -1589 - 1624I emailed in my Memphis Barbeque III manuscript to my editor on Tuesday afternoon. :)

I had a great time writing the book—particularly the end when I got to tie together some subplots into the ending. For some reason, that’s always one of my favorite things to do. I just love giving the little inconsequential bits a more important role at the end.

And now—I’m moving on to the next book!

I used to take breaks from working on the next manuscript, but I’ve found that it’s a whole lot better in the long run to just keep on writing every day. Even during the holidays, I can manage a little time to move my story forward.

But the reason that I keep going is because it doesn’t take long for me to slip out of a writing habit or lose my writing momentum.

But I don’t have to write at the same pace I’ve been keeping. And I’m not editing anything right now (which is a nice break! Editing gets old after a while.)

Things I do when I’m writing at a slower pace:

Brainstorm ideas for the current WiP Brainstorm ideas for other books in the series I’m writing Brainstorm ideas for possible new series (I just like to keep thinking ahead) Of course the promo obligations don’t ever really let up and I’m still doing non-creative writing—blogging, etc.—but with the brainstorming, I at least feel like I’m keeping it creative even while I’m working at a slower pace.

I know a lot of y’all are coming off the frantic pace of NaNo—congratulations to everybody who completed the challenge! My question for you is—are you giving yourself a break? Editing your NaNo manuscript? Or moving on to your next project? And…if you’re writing something new, are you moving at a slower pace?