“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
Oscar Wilde
“Summertime and the livin’ is easy…” How I love this song — so beautiful and inviting! It practically plops you down in a lawn chair and hands you a lemonade. My own summer has been busy. I’ve been working steadily on revising my YA. But yesterday — and I must confess, today as well — I took a break from my revision schedule, which I’ve been sticking with pretty consistently (probably a contradiction, but hey, I’m taking a break!)
At first, I felt a tad guilty about it all. But then I dusted off Ralph’s quote about the “hobgoblin of little minds” and pulled out Oscar’s warning for good measure. They reminded me of the virtues of taking “unscheduled” breaks now and then. To make myself feel better — and to interest you in the idea that an occasional break might be fruitful for you as well, I’ve given myself the challenge of coming up with five reasons why this can be helpful on the writing front:
1 Disrupting your daily writing plan now and then gives your brain a rest.
2 A break reminds you that you have freedom over your choice to write.
3 Playing hooky now and then makes you feel like a kid again — it’s fun!
4 Time off the page can bring you back to the page with fresh urgency.
5 While you’re gadding about, you might just see or hear something useful.
6 Fruitful consistency rather than foolish consistency is the real prize.
There, I did it — and threw in one more for good luck. How about you?
Any benefits to breaks you can think of?