Most of my favorite writers hand out this free advice: "Write every day." Sometimes it's worded slightly differently, as in, "Set a word count goal for the week and make sure you hit it." The basic idea is called BIC: Butt in Chair. It's good advice. I try to make it happen every week. Like this:
(This BIC photo courtesy of freedigitalphoto.net)
But sometimes it doesn't happen. I'm in the midst of a massive problem with my WIP (Work in Progress), and I haven't been able to think it through completely. I've got a handle on the problem, and know what needs to be done, but I'm not there yet. And today, instead of writing, I pulled up HULU and watched last night's episode of Dancing with the Stars. Do I feel guilty? No way! I have a sinking feeling if I'd sat down today to work on my story without knowing the direction I'm supposed to be going, I'd have gone in the wrong direction and written a bunch of words that I'd later have to delete. That wouldn't have been a bad thing either.
The point is, I made my decision and I'm not ashamed of it. However, if I make the same decision tomorrow, I'll probably regret it. That'd make Friday's word count goal pretty unobtainable. So I'll obey the BIC mandate tomorrow and get my problem fixed so I can continue writing. But when you need a break, don't feel guilty about taking it. Just don't take a really long one.
-Sonja
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