It’s okay not to write today. Sometimes.

It’s okay not to write today.

I don’t believe you HAVE TO WRITE EVERY DAY to get your book written. In fact, I think the belief that you HAVE TO WRITE EVERY DAY holds writers back from even starting. Because it’s a commitment that feels huge and insurmountable and there are only so many hours in a day and most of those are already accounted for and when I have some free time I just want to sit and scroll social media with a beverage by my side, is that too much to ask?

Ahem.

That being said, I do think you have to spend at least a few hours a week writing to make progress. You can spread that time over a week however it works best for you: an hour a day a couple of days a week? One three-hour burst early on a weekend morning? 30 minutes during weekday lunches? What’s worked for me so far is blocking off two hours, four days a week. Sometimes I write during those times; other times I do some research, and sometimes I have to use my writing time for other things. That’s just the way it goes. The important thing is, I try not to beat myself up about it. Tomorrow is another day.

A writing mentor says writing is like dating: you have to spend some time with it regularly to keep getting to know it better. If you let a week go by without writing, you have to start getting to know it all over again. I think that’s a great way to think about it. Stay in touch with it, keep nurturing it; don’t let more than a few days go by without some contact.

However.

There are seasons to writing. Meaning, sometimes you have a busy season and you just can’t fit in the writing and thinking necessary for your project. And that’s when it’s okay to take a break.

A writer I’ve been working with had to take a pause recently. He’s in a busy season. His business needed more attention than usual and he had a bunch of travel and he just couldn’t fit in his regular writing sessions. That is a very good time to take a pause and step away. And plan to step back in when the non-writing season passes.

I had a similar epiphany in my writing life. While working on some fiction, some nonfiction ideas came up. During my writing time, I felt so torn between both I worked on neither. This went on for a week or so and I was so mad at myself for not getting anything done. I asked myself, what would happen if I didn’t work on one project for a while in order to work on the other? And suddenly I wasn’t blocked, and I didn’t feel bad about my perceived lack of progress. 

I’m in a season of nonfiction. I’m okay with that. I’ll come back to the fiction.

You are the best judge of your needs. Do you really need to focus on something else for a while? You know the answer. You know when you’re procrastinating vs. when you’re focused elsewhere. Trust yourself to know what season you’re in.