Rest Days and Disciplined Ways

A neatly organized and clipped pile of paper sits to my immediate left on my home office desk. It is the first printed version of my book manuscript. The first page of the book is the brightest thing in my field of vision, offering a friendly distraction while writing.

One week ago I dove headlong into “E-Day”, vigorously in pursuit of sorting a series of red marks and comments written by my wife/business manager/editor. This was also a day where I intended to ask myself if this book idea was still viable. Are the ideas I am looking to present still fresh and worthy of hot pursuit?

The answer to everything asked upon completing my E-Day tasks, was yes.

When my weekend came to a close, the entire manuscript had been combed through and is ready for the next stage of life. This will involve significant writing, research, re-writing. This will all in the company of cold pints, glasses of tea, maybe Canadian Club and Water, and the occasional interruption from one of three feline members of my family.

When last weekend drew to a close I learned the value and need of resting ongoing writing. A majority of writers may find themselves stuck on something and walk away from it. This is the self-perceived illness of “Writer’s Block”.

I have successfully become disciplined into working through those stuck moments, thereby preventing myself from falling into the isolated empty cavern writers may find themselves in when the words may not seem there.

For this book about child freedom, there is always something for me to return to. When I return from allowing this book its rest days, it will be with great motivation to pick up from where I left off.

Somewhere during my high school days, I read about one of my favorite musicians and his process for writing lyrics. He told the interviewer that in some of his journals may only have a page with one word or sentence in them. He could easily return to those pages days, weeks or even years later and build upon it. Even if the words were never to make it to print, he appeared to always have more material to build another piece of writing he could call his own.

Farther over to the right of my desk near my record player, lies a stack of notebooks and binders that have many places for me to return to. Many date back to my earliest writing days. It is tremendously rewarding to bring some of those pages out from extended rest days. Giving new life to unfinished work breathes fresher air, and delivers a refreshing perspective into a writer’s consciousness.

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