THE TWO-DAY RULE

I give up trying to write tons of stuff during the holidays.  The chains of "couch potatoism" are just too strong for my psyche to break.  I wasted Xmas Eve, Xmas Day, and I've only put in a few hours today.  It's embarrassing . . . like losing an arm wrestling match to a 4 year-old.

But that's the thing.  My pace is workaholic-plus.  As much as I hate to admit it, the holidays allow me a free pass at catching up on my sleep and watching seasons of TV shows that I've missed.  Such is life.  Come New Year's, I might actually let go of the reins a bit and - nah.

I'll try to write during that break too.  And the next one . . . ad infinitum.

Still, I need to warn you lot about something.  When doing longer works (say, a novel), don't stop pecking away at it for more than two days straight.  If you do, you'll feel awkward when you get back to it.  Write something - even a paragraph or five during a vacation/holiday - in order to maintain that flow of continuity.  Don't know what I'm babbling about?  Okay, think of the following examples:

1 - You're blazing away at a video game.  The phone rings.  You pause, answer, and return to continue your game - only to get slaughtered five seconds later.  Why?  You lost your flow.

2 - You're having that kicking dream.  One so good/bad/weird that you might actually remember it when you wake up.  Then something wakes you up.  You can go back to sleep.  Hell, you might even dream some more.  But that particular dream is gone.  And there's no way to get it back.

You want to save that flow, when writing.  And if you step away from it for too long, you'll lose it.  Yes, you can soldier on, but it won't feel right.  Since I haven't write sh$t since Thursday, I did what I normally do in these situations: I edited the prior chapters.  Something about proofreading gets me back into the story enough so that I can keep its voice when I start with the new material.  Also, I'm less inclined to forget pesky details (names, situations, who lost an eye, etc.).

So, enjoy the rest of your holidays and be safe.

Hope this was of use.