It’s Ok to do Nothing…Sometimes

I just got done working six days in a row. That’s 6 days, 9-10 hours each day on my feet.

I’m zonked!

You know what I’ve done for the past two days?

Nothing.

Somewhere in those 6 days I was sick too, yet I still hammered out the words as best I could.

I’ve come to the realization though that hey, it’s ok to do nothing…sometimes.

Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m not talking about abandoning a writing project because it’s hard or the words aren’t flowing for you. It’s those times that you should really press on and get ‘er done, as the saying goes.

I’m talking about doing nothing on those days when everything is going wrong. You missed the bus, got splashed by a car driving through a puddle that only seemed and inch deep.

You know the days I mean.

Of course, sometimes it’s those days that you need to write to put you in a better mood. You’ll know the difference.

Trust me, you’ll know.

Me, though. I don’t feel guilty about not doing anything. I’ve worked my ass off the past few days and I’m tired and cranky and chances are whatever I put down on paper will end up getting edited out anyway. So I’ve chosen to do nothing.

In terms of the podcast, I’m a few episodes ahead. In terms of the novel as a whole, I’m right where I want to be at the moment. There’s a difference between not doing anything and not wanting to do anything. When you don’t want to do something, that’s when you should do it. Writing, I mean. Not streaking through your office yelling,

“Henry the Eighth I am I am!”

It’s not that I don’t want to write, I do. But again I say,

I’ve chosen to do nothing.

There’s a choice invovled and it’s not because I’m blocked or stuck or can’t think of what happens next (I have an outline for Christsake), it’s because I’m tired.

Flat out tired.

So the next time you’re not doing anything to advance your story, you better have a damn good reason not to do so.

Is it because you don’t want to?

Or because you’ve chosen not to?

There’s a difference.