<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Writing is a stop-and-start process for me. \u00a0<\/span>Yeah, groundbreaking stuff here folks.\u00a0 <\/span>This is true for most writers I talk to, but I\u2019ve found my own stops-and-starts can be identified by category, or conspirator. I\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n Some are interruptions. I\u2019m a husband and father of three, so even if I\u2019m barricaded in my office with \u201cdo not disturb\u201d instructions, it\u2019s only a matter of time before someone bursts through the door with some urgent demand like, \u201cHey dad, come check out this funny thing on TV (trust me, this is urgent).\u201d What\u2019s more, we have three dogs (yes, you read that right), so I\u2019m certain to be interrupted by canine clamoring to be petted or barking that demands to go outside in futile pursuit of yet another squirrel. Interruptions are simply uninvited breaks I blame on others.<\/p>\n Some are distractions. I can be slave to a short attention span when I write. I need something to eat, or I need another drink (or now my bladder\u2019s full and I need to visit another room in the house); or my phone beckons as someone just texted me, or I\u2019ve got new email; or \u201chey, I see a squirrel out the window,\u201d or \u201cI think I hear a funny thing on TV.\u201d Distractions I have no one to blame for but myself.<\/p>\n Some are necessities. I have to go to work, or class, or attend my son\u2019s school activity. Sometimes my brain is fried and my eyes are glazing over from staring at a monitor for too long. Sometimes the clock reminds me to go to bed. Necessities are life.<\/p>\n A strange and increasingly favorite category is what I call the \u201c3AM wake-up call.\u201d Maybe you can relate. Deep in slumber, my brain itself conspires to wake me at the oddest hours, refusing to let go of a fresh or relevant piece to the textual puzzle. Depriving me of sleep, these awakenings can be nuisances, leading to an inner debate to get up and write immediately or to convince myself I\u2019ll remember later if I go back to sleep. I\u2019ve learned the hard way that if I do remember, it\u2019s with far less clarity. These lessons have led to the habit of keeping a writing pad next to the bed, for fear I\u2019ll miss the next jewel.<\/p>\n I now both expect and mostly (the dogs can be annoying) welcome these breaks\u2014these moments of stepping away from a writing, for one simple reason. Even when I\u2019m away from the text, I\u2019m never really away from the words<\/i>. As I change environments, my mind continues to mull and churn, often rewarding me with a new idea or solution to a wording problem I couldn\u2019t resolve before. I recognize breaks as an invaluable part of the writing process, so I leverage them in any writing project.<\/p>\n Embrace writing\u2019s \u201cstepping away,\u201d in all its forms, the next great idea or key to unlocking that essay might await.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Writing is a stop-and-start process for me. \u00a0Yeah, groundbreaking stuff here folks.\u00a0 This is true for most writers I talk to, but I\u2019ve found my own stops-and-starts can be identified by category, or conspirator. I\u2019ll explain. Some are interruptions. I\u2019m a husband and father of three, so even if I\u2019m barricaded in my office with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-quick-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}