Taking a break

We all need a break from writing every once in a while. Otherwise, I think it would drive us even more insane. So, what do you guys do during a break? How often do you take breaks? Any special tricks for shifting back into your writing gear after taking one? Does a break normally help you overcome writer's block? Discuss!

I write in a cycle that keeps me from burning out.

Almost half of my "writing time" is devoted to research and reading. I will generally read a handful of books on the aspects of a plot or character trait I am not familiar with to get a better idea how to write it. I am working on a story about an excessively manly rancher at the moment, so I am reading books on rural areas, ranching, and some of history's manliest men to get an idea as to potential story lines and character traits while also avoiding major oversights of facts. I also read one or two novels in this section, both ones that I want to read and that help me understand how the genera I'm writing in tends to work. I'm working on a pseudo-love story so I'm reading a handful of them, as well as The Grapes of Wrath due to their being a populist/communist villain and its portrayal of dialects and conflicts of roughly the same type of people I'm writing about.

After that I do about a week or so of intensive planning, mapping out every new character and most plotlines and scenes. It isn't Snowflake-style planning, but it is similar to some of the later stages of the method.

And then I take two to three weeks of actual writing as I hammer out the story, usually writing two to three thousand words a day. And then I take another two weeks or so to edit. And then I'm done.

So basically I work like a maniac for a month to get 30/40 thousand words written, and then I do more or less nothing but reading for a month to prevent myself from going insane. I've found the reading period to be extremely helpful and stress-relieving.

I am the queen of breaks. I take breaks often for specific stories and they can last up to 8-10 months, usually due to lack of interest or a persistent writer's block. One of my current stories hasn't had a chapter since February and I'm planning to take an even longer break since the character I was writing about was killed off recently. Killed my inspiration and still very hard to think about. :(

I usually get the inspiration back by reading other stories. Oftentimes that can even have a backwards effect since some people write too darn well and it drives me insane if I can't be as descriptive myself or what-have-you.

I usually write when I get the inspiration to do something productive. My life is nowhere near the modern man's busy life, so I think I have loads of time to do what I wish. It's just that I take on writing as a part-part-time hobby. So a definition of taking a break for me would be to write up. I mean, I usually write to take a break from other activities. I feel that's the best way I get involved into writing something more than a half-hearted paragraph.

It's been an extremely long time since I'd last worked on an actual fic (two years, maybe; seriously need to get that fixed), but when I did, I would lose motivation pretty quickly. After each chapter, I'd lose ideas and get hard time figuring out what to do next. Because of this, I would take breaks to refresh myself and whatnot. Their length would all depend on how long I need them to be; sometimes, it's only two days, and would gain my spark back again to write after that. At other times, it could take up from a month to even half a year. :( Break does help overcome write's block, yes, but not exactly always. Reading other stories does help every once in a while for some people, but for me, that is unfortunately not the case; it does keep me entertained, but never helps when it comes to ideas and planning.

Well I have a bad to borderline pathetic habit on taking 2 hours to 2 months of a break after literally writing 4-6 paragraphs + whole dialogue conversation, of a chapter. A CHAPTER. My mind is telling me to write more, but everything else and my ADD and laziness tell me. 'Oh look there's food in the fridge...raid it at once!'

But there will be those rare times were I only take 2-3 hours of a break from writing then attack the writing aspect with more confidence and inspiration. And when I do take a break. I do arrays of stuff just get my body back into the real world and not in the writing and fics world...(Sounds weird but I hope you get the picture)

I usually just pig out in my kitchen and if I'm not lazy go out to eat. Get alcohol in the system (The things I think of to write while drunk is...well...hmmm...it helps?). Hit the gym and work out and jog out side (Sometimes I bring a note pad, sit on a park bench and write) Hot showers and on the toilet (Lots of great ideas came from those). And finally hopping into my car and drive around, and blast music.

And when I get back to writing. My adrenaline is running. My mind is running. The rest of my body is dying and usually finish 75% of a chapter until I get tired and depressed.

Eh... I usually try to take breaks. When I do, I just play pokemon for a little while, or I try to read if I'm reading a book. I do just about anything I can that isn't really writing involved. It doesn't usually last very long for me though.

In honesty, I have to take about one or two breaks a day. If I don't, my autism and ADHD will catch up to me and cause severe anxiety, which can really suck if I'm overworking myself. I always do my best to prevent that when my brain has had it's limit. I do stop writing after around seven or eight at night because that's when my brain has declared it's surrender.

Normally, I just listen to music. If I get tired of reading or playing pokemon, then I can easily go right back to writing. I don't really have any special tricks to make it any easier for me lol.

I'm always on break.