After you finish your short story, do you jump to the next project? Or do you give yourself a day or two of breathing time? Last night, I finished a story that I've been working on, and I gave myself two weeks before I could revise and edit. While I wait for the two weeks, should I start writing on a new one? What do you guys do between the "waiting period"?
Depends on you - there's no right answer, as I'm sure plenty of people will tell you. For me, I like to have a breather - but then again, I don't write shorts, I write novels, and my usual breaks last about a week, though my longest break was 1 month when I had a burn out. Now that my novel's finished, I haven't written anything for 1-2 months, and I'm looking for ideas for a new book, sure, but I'm not working very hard on it. No, right now, I'm taking a much-needed break. But then again, my novel took me 2 years (polished MS, not just first draft), so I think the length of your break is probably proportional to how long your project took to complete. I'm only starting to get the first inklings of wanting to write again. I still feel so tired that I fear I'll never write again - which won't happen but I worry about it nonetheless, hence my search for new ideas even though I'm on a break. I like to spend this time doing other things I didn't have time for when I was writing - making some jewellery, wiring (beads and stones and stuff), strongly contemplating doing some drawing, and more than anything I've been reading everything my eyes could find. Mostly news and blog posts and stuff about theology and issues of the modern church (since I'm a Christian), and on my Kindle I'm reading a fantasy novel as well as a non-fiction account on life inside North Korea. All these things, I hope, will feed into my imagination and inspire new ideas It's easy to get writer's blocks if you don't let yourself rest and enjoy something else from time to time, and at the end of a project is usually a good point for a proper break. Although, if you have a new project you're itching to start and you don't feel exhausted, you don't feel a need for a break, rather you feel like you're on a roll - then by all means, write on! I don't see why not.
Like Mckk, I like to spend breaks participating in other activities. My other creative outlets are film and nail art.
I'd say that it depends on you and that breaks are well-deserved, but from my experience know this - do not stop writing for too long. Eventually we all get a very distinct feeling of procrastination which leads us to not writing anything. Even if you take a 2-3 week from revising upon the project, and even though you should do different activities as well (video games, movies, other creative outlets), do at least some free writing. Stopping yourself from writing undoubtedly and horridly destroys the creative flor - my only advise being to not stop writing.
It depends on a couple of things. First, do I have another project just waiting in the wings? Second, do I need to catch up on non-writing projects I've delayed in order to finish the story? I almost always have writing projects to work on, so the lack of them never stops me. But I'm taking a week off now after finishing a novelette so I can work a little on my music. Also, I'm studying some math (I haven't taken a math course in about thirty years, and I need a refresher!). Plus, I want to finish a couple of books I'm reading. I'll be writing again next week.
I find I have the opposite problem. If I don't take breaks then I feel my stories begin to blend together and feel monotonous/lifeless. In 2009 I wrote six novels back-to-back (no college/job) and they all have a similar feel to them despite having completely different plots, themes, pacing, casts, etc. After finishing the sixth novel I took half a year off from writing altogether (not burned out - just hated how 'same-y' my writing felt) and then when I started again I felt a new sense of enthusiasm and completely refreshed.
Each writer to his own, I must admit. I've only found that procrastination is my worst enemy - and if I don't force myself to write, then I simply won't write. But once again, we are all unique, and admittedly, some peace and solitude is often required for a good writing flow.
I try to write every day. When I've finished a piece, if I don't have a specific story idea in mind, I'll make up something when I sit down for the day and go from there. See my sig.
