Breaks That Don’t Break You

This article is for: Everyone!

The ideal state for for any writer is to be writing often and writing a lot. This makes for better creativity and better quality poems, as well as being more fun!

But sometimes, we all find ourselves compelled to take a break from writing.

There are many reasons why this might happen:

Work or family demands increase and take over your poetry time.
Sickness can make it impossible to think about anything else, or to have the energy or capability for writing.
A loss of confidence makes writing impossible, even almost physically painful (I have been there!)
You just seem to have zero ideas or impetus.
You feel exhausted and in need of a rest, perhaps after you’ve just finished a big project, like preparing a manuscript for publication.

If you haven’t already experienced more than one of these, you’re very lucky! But chances are, you will one day.

And many people find these times very hard. So in this article I want to go over:

How to make an enforced writing break as pleasant and productive as possible.

Bad breaks are, well, bad

On an enforced break, it’s all too easy to become very anxious.

I’ve seen a lot of people get very worried or upset when it happens.

There are lots of things you might start to worry about:

That you shouldn’t be taking a break at all—that you should somehow power through it.
That the break might harm your creativity or skills, so when you resume, you won’t be as good of a poet.
That by stopping now you’re missing out on all kinds of opportunities that won’t come back.
Perhaps even that you won’t be able to resume t all—that this break will stretch on forever.

If you’ve had thoughts and feelings like this, I sympathize—I’ve had them too, and they are tough.

The good news is, there’s an alternative: better breaks can happen

I don’t want to say that you can turn an enforced writing pause into something “good,” because a good break is one that doesn’t happen!

But you still have some choices and control that can improve your experience.

Here’s what I think you can do to go down that more positive road.

Step One: Shift Your Beliefs about Breaks

First, let’s consider why those fears that drive anxiety in the Bad Break scenario are false.

Fear #1: It’s wrong to take a break.

The Truth: Breaks are not only inevitable, they are also natural.

As creative beings, I believe we echo and imitate the creative powers of the world and around us. And does the world sometimes take breaks from creation? If you live anywhere that has a winter, then yes, it does! Do gardens and fields become exhausted if they’re not allowed time to regenerate sometimes? Again, yes.

So there’s no need to think that being forced to take a break means you’ve failed. Like the trees outside my window, sometimes a pause is just what you need to do.

Fear #2: Good poets/Real poets don’t take breaks.

The Truth: Everyone has to stop writing sometimes.

Heck, breaks may even be a good sign. If your life becomes too busy, it at least means that you have a life—which means you can write about it!

Even illness or other struggles can become material later for poems. I’m not saying you should want to have these troubles, but if you do, you can at least say, “Maybe I can write about this later.”

Fear #3: Taking a break will harm you as a poet

The Truth: Neither your skills nor your creativity will diminish from lack of use.

Yes, they might become a bit rusty, but that’s not the same as deteriorating permanently. Creativity in particular is always there, just waiting for us to return to it, and it will flow back eagerly. Skills too, I believe. I learned to use rhyme and meter more than 30 years ago, and although I rarely use them now, if I want to, I can slip back into them pretty fast.

Fear #4: You’re missing out

The Truth: The universe will keep offering you opportunities.

Yes, some specific chances might pass you by while you’re not writing. But others, equally as promising, will show up when you get back to it.

So yes, you’d rather be writing now. But you’re not doing any long-term harm to yourself by stopping for a while now.

Fear #5: You’ll never be able to resume

The Truth: Creativity never leaves us.

You will always be able to restart. It might be a little uncomfortable—I’ll come back to that—but it will happen, if you persist.

So, if none of those fears about breaks are real, then you can stop tormenting yourself for being on a break.

Step Two: Make the break work for you

Not torturing yourself is an important first step.

But more than that, there are ways that you can try to make an imposed break more positive, and maybe even useful.

After all, the word “break” does also mean an opportunity! So perhaps there are good things you might dig out of a lull time.

And I don’t mean to be flippant—if you’re compelled to stop writing, chances are it’s because something is hard in your life. So it may not be easy to do these things I’m about to suggest. But if you can manage even one or two of them, you’re sowing important seeds to make your break fruitful.

Stay in touch with poetry

When you can’t write, there are things you can do to feel that you are at least still swimming in the poetry river.

1. Read as much poetry as you can manage.

This may not be very much—but can it be more than none? Poems are short, after all!

One thing I like to do when I’m very busy is to read journals rather than single-author books. Since journals give me only one or two poems by each poet, it feels easier to dip in for a few minutes when I have time.

If you don’t feel up to exploring new poetry, could you re-read some of your old favorites? It’s always worth returning to early influences and seeing what new things you can get from them now.

2. Listen to poetry

If reading is too hard, then listening is another option. There are some excellent poetry podcasts out there, such as The Slowdown, as well as websites like the Poetry Archive that feature recordings of poets reading their poems.

3. Attend readings, live or online

This may be a tall order if you’re sick or too busy, but if you possibly can, see if there are events you could get to. Readings are an excellent way to feel the energy of poetry running through you again, even when you’re not able to write it.

And of course, the huge rise in online readings since 2020, some of which are recorded so you can watch them later, makes it easier to fit them around a busy schedule.

4. Keep going to your writers group

When you’re not writing, it’s all too easy to stop attending writers groups. However, just listening to others’ work and being there for the discussion can help you. You keep your poetry awareness polished, and maybe store up inspiration for your own writing for later.

Prepare for your return to writing

There are also some things you can do to help make your re-entry into writing—which will happen!—go more smoothly.

1. Keep using your notebook

If at all possible, try still to record things in your writer’s notebook even when you’re not writing anything else.

This can be details of what you’re going through, observations of the world, isolated lines or images that come to you, or anything in between. Even lists of random words will do!

And you don’t have to write a lot: 5 minutes here and there can be enough.

The point is that you’re still writing something. Even if it seems mundane and seems pointless, you’re staying in touch with words. And you never know what uses you might find for all this later, when you’re back to writing.

2. Reflect on your art

Time away from writing may give you some useful distance on your poetry, that you can use to consider what you’ll try next.

For example, maybe as you watch the grandkids who are keeping you from writing, you daydream about your recent poems, which were all narrative and in first person, and feel that you want to be more adventurous when you get some time back.

So you think how you might do that: by using personas perhaps, or writing new forms that you’ve always meant to try.

This way, you can build up possibilities and even excitement for what you’ll do when writing is an option again.

3. Plan where you’ll start, when you can

Creativity fears the blank page, and the worst kind of blank page is the one you face for the first time in weeks or months.

Yes, restarting can be hard. But you can make restarting easier if you decide in advance what you’re going to tackle first when you do get to write again.

In my own case, I’m focusing on submitting my book manuscript to publishers, and that’s not leaving me time to write. But I know exactly what I’m going to do first when I do get time: I’m going to read through 100+ prose poems I drafted after my father’s death, to see what revision they need and how they might work together as a manuscript.

Knowing this makes me a lot more OK with not writing for the moment. I know where I’m going, and I’m confident I’ll get there, eventually.

4. If you can, see the break as source material

Lastly, as I touched on above, sometimes it’s possible to turn a break around by seeing it as a something you might write about later.

This doesn’t always work, but do try it. If something is taking up all your time and attention, it is worth putting into a poem! Maybe even a book, who knows?

Especially for harder experiences, like sickness or grief, this can be a real help—knowing that you’re going to transform the tough times into art may be a consolation and something to hold onto.

So, don’t let a break break you!

If you do have to stop, know you’re not alone, and keep the faith.

Next Steps

If you’re on a break at the moment:

Choose three things you could do to make the break easier or more productive:

One activity that keeps you in touch with poetry: find a new podcast, explore a new press, order a book, find an online reading or open mic to go to.
One activity that helps you prepare for writing again: resume writing notes in your notebook, list some new approaches or styles you want to try when you restart, or list topics you want to tackle when you can.
Turn the break into a source: Record details what you’re going through now, to use as material for poems later. Make these notes as detailed as you can. Yes, even the dull and annoying stuff! It might be useful…

If you’re not on a break at the moment:

Plan ahead! Choose which three things you’d do if you ever did have to pause writing,

Then you’ll be prepared, when it happens!