The Three Seasons

I almost titled this post as another "life update”. I did some brainstorming today about what I should write about in my blog, and I basically just listed everything that had occurred in my life in the last two weeks. And it wasn’t a whole lot of reading or writing.

Here are the things I’ve done in the meantime that pertain to reading/writing:

• I finally started CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh Bardugo. Or what my family likes to affectionately call it: the dictionary (due to its red pages and thickness). It’s been sitting on my dresser for almost a year now…yikes. Unfortunately, I’ve only read the first ninety-six pages, so I’m not that far into it. But then again, I always knew it’d take me a while to read through it. (I’m really enjoying the book so far, though.)

• I haven’t done any sort of actual creative writing, but I have been devising ways on how to rework one of my larger stories that I wrote last year. I’m thinking about writing it in a slightly different genre. Of course, depending on how much I want to veer into the new genre, it could completely alter the actual story/plot. I’m not saying it’d be a bad thing, but I’m unsure if I’d like to travel down that road just yet. 

And that’s it.

But is that so bad?

I told myself a long time ago how there is a season for writing, a season for editing, and a season for absorbing. Plenty of writers or past professors of mine have recommended that I should be writing every day in order to develop the habit. And while I commend those people who spend a chunk of their day writing daily, this tactic doesn’t work for me. After a while, I become burnt out or I begin to view the act of writing as a chore. Obviously, neither of those things is good for me. Sometimes I honestly don’t have time to write and would rather sleep. It happens.

Just because I’m not putting my fingers onto a keyboard, though, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m not doing activities which could improve me as a writer. Brainstorming the plot and outlining the characters are important aspects of fleshing out the story. Re-reading and editing my work also takes time, but only involves a certain amount of writing. Being out in the world and living life allow me to generate ideas for my stories, even though I’m nowhere near my laptop.

So I’m currently in my season of absorbing. So what? I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Sooner or later, I will find myself back into my season of writing. I always do.



Disclaimer: If your job involves you writing on a daily basis, ignore everything I stated above. You have a deadline, and a paycheck to factor in. You probably don’t have the luxury of having a season of non-writing. Sorry.