How to Take a Day Off Without Breaking Your Writing Habit

Once you’ve established a writing habit, the last thing you want to do is break it – that stalls progress faster than almost anything else. But you still need days off and vacations, so let’s brainstorm some ideas for how to take a day of without breaking your writing habit. Preferably, not even denting it.

Strategies to Keep Writing and Still Take Vacations

Write Somewhere Else

Amazingly, just changing where you write can make it feel more like a vacation. Writing on the couch, at a bar, or on a beach – they’re all very different from writing at your desk. And the new circumstances go a long way in making if feel like you’re still on break.

And having a colorful drink with an umbrella at the same time doesn’t hurt either. 😉

If you don’t think that’ll be enough for you, though, don’t worry: there’s more.

Switch Writing Hats

If you’re in the middle of a big writing project where you’re mostly writing new chapters, then, work on a different aspect of the project. Like worldbuilding, plotting, or editing. That feels like a break because you’re doing something different, but you’re still spending time on your writing. You’re also still making progress on the project because those aspects are important, too.

This tactic is especially good if you’re working on an aspect of writing that’s harder or more frustrating for you. You can take a break with one of the parts you like best. For example, I love worldbuilding, so that’s always a fun break for me.

Do a Short Project Based on Your Current Project

It could be anything – a short story with characters from the book you’re working on, characterization exercises, art related to the story, etc. The important aspect of this method is to make sure it ties in with your main project somehow.

A Short Story

Lots of authors have short stories related to their novels. Often, that’s because they write the short story first, like the characters/world, and decide to turn it into a book. On the other hand, short stories are also great ways to promote your book and get people interested in it.

And, in this case, a way to work on your characterization and worldbuilding while still getting a break from working on the book itself.

Characterization Exercises

You can never know too much about your characters (you can tell the reader too much, but that’s another story). Doing an exercise using the characters from your book helps better prepare you to write more and lets it feel less like work.

Art Projects

Depending on the type of project you choose, this could go under characterization exercises, but since it could under worldbuilding or plotting, I figured it deserved its own section.

Art projects are a great way to make yourself think about and define parts of the project. They’re also very different from what we usually do in our writing time. Some examples are…

• Drawing/painting your characters
• Drawing a map of your world
• Representing the plot in string diagrams
• Building miniatures
• Book cover art
• Storyboarding scenes

The options are fairly unlimited. Any way you can represent part of your story using art can work. You’ll be surprised how much it can help you defining details you hadn’t considered before, too. Some will be more integral than others, but it’s a valid tactic.

Do a Writing Exercise

If you really want a break from your current project altogether, write something else. Pick a writing prompt / writing exercise and use totally new characters and places. Work on a literary device you want to master or just pick something fun.

Even if you’re not working on your project, you’re still writing every day, and that counts.

Keep a Journal

Traveling can be very inspiring. You could use what you see and experience in writing prompts or simply detail your adventures. Writing the story of your trip counts as writing, too, and you’ll be happy to have those years later.

TL;DR

Find a way to make writing feel different, but make sure to do something writing-related every day. Preferably for the same amount of time as usual (or close to it). Or even longer but less concentrated (with more breaks).

That’s the secret. The magic pixie dust that lets you take a day off without breaking your writing habit – keeping in the habit of setting aside time for writing but also mixing it up enough to relax. That’s what makes it easy to get back into your writing schedule when your vacation is over. Or, at the very least, easier than if you stopped completely.

Good luck, and enjoy your vacation!