E.M. Lockard
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The Importance of Turning Off Your Brain

2/27/2014

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It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining. The coffee is brewing. The laptop is... well, it's doing what laptops do. And I'm ready for another year of writing, rewriting and rewriting again. Why am I ready? Because I took a vacation and turned my brain off. That's why.
With some jobs, it's not incredibly difficult to mentally check out on the weekends or in the evenings. As soon as you leave the office, you can think about other things. But with creative endeavors - writing, in particular - you can't get away from the office, because the office is really all in your head. And you can't leave your brain like you leave the office. (If you can, please leave a comment below explaining how. I'd be very interested.)

That's why it's so important to find a way to turn off your brain for a few days. You have to rest the creative part of your brain - the storytelling center of it all - so that you can return to your story revitalized and ready for the curveballs ahead. It's like a muscle: you exercise it, you rest it, and it gets stronger.

I just returned from a trip to California, where I let the little child inside me run free at Disneyland. It was a great vacation for my brain, not to mention a fun trip for the rest of me (although my stomach didn't appreciate all the roller coasters). I got to enjoy the fruits of someone else's creativity, and that inspiration will carry over into my writing. The storyteller in my head is ready to get back to work.

If you can't go to another state, then try to work in some time for a mini-vacation. Sometimes, I like to design board games or lose myself in a good book. I sit down with raspberries and rootbeer, and I watch an old black-and-white movie. I force myself to think about something other than a story.

So if the storyteller in you is feeling worn out, or if you're facing writer's block, try a mini-vacation. Force yourself to think about anything but writing. Let your creativity take a break.

And then return to your writing project renewed.

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    Called "The Semi-Sane Writer", this  blog used to have its own home.  However, it felt lonely and decided to join the rest of the author's information on this site.  The author took pity on the poor, lonely blog and very nicely relocated it. 

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