So you’ve finished writing your book (Congrats btw).

It’s taken you weeks, if not months. You’ve gotten all your thoughts down on paper, arranged everything coherently, and added more description and metaphor to your story.

Now you’re done and the book is in the hands of your editor. Now what? Well you are going to be doing some writing when the editor get’s back to you with each chapter, so don’t stress too much. However, now you’re not writing consistently every day. You thought that once you finished, you’d be filled with a sense of relief, but instead you’re sitting there not knowing what to do with yourself.

This can understandably be a very stressful time for a writer, mentally. You feel like you should be writing. The stress you usually feel when you’re not able to work on your book during the normal time you would is still with you. Your brain apparently hasn’t caught up with reality that YOU’VE FINISHED! So what do you do? How do you handle it?

Keep writing, duh!

No… not really a good idea. One, don’t add more to your book. If you weren’t done with it to your satisfaction, you never should have handed it off to the editor. Most of us could keep working on the same book until judgement day, but that is not healthy. Your book is done. It’s in the hands of the editor now and once the edits are complete, the next step is publishing. Let it go.

Starting on another writing assignment right off is also a bad idea. Writers are not immune to burnout and often any writing done now will suffer the effects of rebound. Painful though it may be, you need a break.

As a writer, you sacrifice a lot of time staring at a computer screen. No doubt you’ve lost out on some time with your family… and likely have put on a little weight. It’s normal as writers tend to get a little consumed. Normal, but not healthy.

Get out of the house, get some exercise, make up some lost time, do some of the things you enjoy. That keyboard will still be there when you’re ready with a new idea and you’ve had enough time to destress and detox.

This is also healthy because, in addition to allowing your mind to relax, once you’ve had a chance to detox, your mind will be wide open and receptive to new ideas. Going out and experiencing the world will give it new sensations to absorb and before you know it, you may have another story to write.

In short, yes writing is time consuming… if not life consuming, but once you’ve finished one piece, taking a break is so important. I’d say give it 3-6 months AT MINIMUM before writing something new.

Readers, how do you detox your mind after finishing your writing? How long do you take off? Let me know in the comments.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim