Write Daily -It's Life Altering

Did you know that writing every day changes your life?

Me either....until yesterday, that is.

I have been writing like a mad woman this year.  Whether I am just home from work, or it is my day off, I am at my computer typing away. Well a few days ago, I finished my latest Novella and decided to set it aside to breathe. Yesterday was my first day off since I finished it, and I was lost. I got up as usual at came to my desk and said: "Now what?" 

I have many other stories brewing and I'll have to work on where I want to go next. It's a strange process though, when you get wrapped up in a story. You don't realize until it's over how much it consumes you. Every thought, keystroke, or notation is about this idea evolving and growing. Where will the characters end up, who needs to do what next, how will it end? And when you finally type in the last sentence it's over and...that's it?  Of course yes, I have to go back and read it and edit it. There may be rewrites and expansions, it's not gone yet. But for that brief time, where you set it aside to move on  - I can only say it's a weird feeling. Empty even.

I literally did not know what to do with myself all day long. I poked around the internet, boring. I decided to do some more advertising on my current work, but it just was not the same as writing. I walked in and out of the bedroom - thinking a nap sounds nice - but it felt like I was just wasting time.

So I got lucky, and my hubby came home early in the afternoon, (keep it clean people). The temperature outside had dropped to 5 c  (or 41 f ) where it has been double that all week, and we've not seen much of each other lately. We took advantage of the cold, and the time, and made it a relaxing movie day. To the couch with blankies and the dog! It was a beautiful day and needed by us all.

Today it will be back to the drawing board for me, and the next big project, but the displaced feeling remains.

How do you deal with the in-between times? Do you enjoy it and chill? Or jump right into the next big thing? Share your writing woes.

Happy down-time folks. Theresa