Reading/Writing Breaks (August Theme) by Bob Krech

I am very on board with taking breaks from writing. Sometimes just to go downstairs and raid the fridge and sometimes there have been a few days in a row. Some of the most productive breaks have occurred when I've put aside a manuscript for a few months or even a year. The new, fresh perspective that kind of break brings is amazing.

One thing I like to do when I take a break from my writing for any extended period of time is read something new, particularly out of my genre. Those books always seem like little vacations somewhere else. I'm away from my writing task, but still immersed in writing and reading.

When I read these writing vacation books I find myself underlining and jotting little notes, learning new words sometimes, and definitely picking up on some technique and description. The book I just read while on a little writing break is Motherless Brooklyn, a very off kilter detective novel if you will. I've never written a detective novel and probably never will, but I learned a lot and it made me want to get back to my own writing.

Reading someone else's work while away from your own is something like watching baseball vs. playing baseball. Playing baseball is fun, but it's also really hard work. Same with writing. Watching baseball is fun and if you watch it the right way you can learn a lot and be inspired. That's how I feel about my reading/writing breaks. It gets me away from my writing, but makes me want to get right back into it too.