Confessions from My Writing Hiatus
By Kris Maze
I have never had a writing hiatus like my current one. This break started after the last legs of my latest book launch walked off into the sunset. It has since taken up residence in my writer mind. It has been several months since I have crafted a blog post, reflected in a journal entry, or written a story.
Other than this post, of course. You, dear writing friends, get the pleasure and benefit today of learning from my experience and its impact on my writing.
The Unlikeliness of My Writing Vacay
You may relate to my experience, as most readers at WITS have found themselves questioning the validity of their writing obsession at some point. Writing is the exercise of the mind that I crave, different from going to the gym, which I dread. Writing was a daily habit I looked forward to, carving out minutes each busy day to devote to the craft. To be cliché, writing is the air I breathe, the food I eat, and the thoughts that maintain me each day. So, how does a writer stop writing? And what happens to them when they do?
For me, it started with getting on a plane after a relatively successful book launch. As I looked over what I would bring in my carry on, I noticed that half of my bed was covered in office supplies. Notebooks, sticky notes, cords, chargers, pens… so many pens. My computer alone weighs around three and a half pounds and standing at my bedside I started to mentally add up the total heaviness. Like leaving the equivalent of a bowling ball on the bed, I left it all behind.
Facing the Writing Break
Normally, I would have been anxious to feel the keys beneath my fingers, clacking away at a new story. Twitchy as I sought the feel of the silky pen gliding across the smooth paper, wicking up my thoughts. But I felt the opposite.
Freedom.
The lightness of my bag was refreshing.
The extra time spent interacting with the world around me was freeing.
It had been a long time since I walked outside of my writing persona. And it felt good.
Taking this break came at an opportune time for me, as I had finished one book, and have another ready for the publishing process. The pressure to produce, plan, and promote had been lifted for a moment. I had not mindfully put my writing aside in years, and I discovered it was a great way to refresh my work as a writer.
5 Ways to Jumpstart Your Writing Return
- Pushing pause on your writing work can be beneficial and refreshing, but it also comes with a potential erosion of your writing habits. Remember which routines made you the most productive and use those patterns to ease you back into your writing.
- Focus on your family and friends. I recommend setting your break around events that you would normally like to focus on other things, like the holidays or a special family or friends’ event. Being present will enrich those experiences which will add to your ability to write meaningful stories when you start up again.
- Sign up for a writing class, workshop, or conference. I am currently participating in the WIP (Women in Publishing) 2026 virtual conference and am energized by their knowledgeable contributors, writing friend connections, and timely content. There are also classes and workshops from our WITS contributors that can improve your writing career.
- Join, or continue working with, a writing or critique group. Having a set schedule and audience for portions of your work adds accountability to your writing goals. This can bolster your writing productivity after a break.
- Set aside writing time for yourself and put these ‘meetings’ in your calendar. Show up for yourself and rebuild your writing muscles as you set your mind back to work.
Enjoy your writing more
Writing is a lifelong adventure for most of us, and it comes with seasons, high and low points, and occasionally breaks. Starting up after a hiatus can come with its challenges, but the rewards for writing will have you clambering away again at your computer soon.
Remember what first sparked your interest in writing when you return after a long break. Take time to revisit your writing goals and refresh your perspective on your accomplishments. These tips can help revitalize the quality of your words and the sense of contentment you feel as you flex your writing muscles once again. Happy Writing to you all!
Describe a time when you stopped writing. How did you get back into your writing groove?
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About Kris
Kris Maze is a speculative fiction author who crafts suspenseful, heartfelt stories with twisty plots and a touch of the uncanny. Her work blends science fiction, mystery, and emotional depth, often exploring the big “what-if” questions of life and the universe. She also writes darker fiction under the pen name Krissy Knoxx. When she isn’t writing, she’s likely teaching, traveling, or wandering trails pondering the wisdom of Bob Ross. Follow her author events and join her newsletter found at KrisMaze.com.
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Congratulations on taking a break and then getting back into writing! I took my first break from writing in twenty years this past December. My son was getting married and, as you said, I wanted the time to devote to preparing for the wedding and focusing on family. After precisely a month of not writing a word, it took me a few days to get back into the swing of it. I’d been in the middle of a book, and so reread what I’d written, looked through my notes (I’m a plotter), and carried on. The only thing I can say, is that I didn’t feel any different after my break as I had before it. I had thought I would, that I would have more ideas, feel more creative… something. But it was just back to the same as I had been before. Odd. Did you feel any different?
Hello Meredith,
I have to say that I did feel different. It may be related to me carrying that stress and that the body keeps score, ya know? So, for me I felt physically lighter and mentally more ready to tackle the multiple aspects of being a writer.
To continue this balance, my plan is to set aside time for a more in-depth quarterly check-in on my writing process/business as a whole. I'll be taking a critical look at what serves my writing process and see what I can cut. This should help me maintain a less stressful attitude towards my writing and to help me enjoy it more longterm. This is a regular pattern for me, but I believe it will be more focused on streamlining the efforts on the creative process more.
Perhaps it is time to shake up your focus a little and try some different ways to bring joy and creativity back into your writing process. 🙂 Even if that means allowing yourself breaks more often!
Kris
Writing breaks happen naturally for me. I don't take work on vacations. That time is for focusing on where I am and who I'm with. If hubby has to leave his job behind, so do I.
I freelance as well as working on my own projects. So assignments are breaks, but I'm sitting at my desk for the same hours, so the habit doesn't change.
Then there are those moments when life really does interfere. I go back to work exactly like hubby goes back to work. This is my day job, even if I'm minimally published for my own stuff. Treating it that way helps the mindset. Rereading the last sections I worked on or even four or five chapters gets me back to where I was (and always I find something else that needs to be edited as I've returned with fresh eyes).
Hi Debbie,
It sounds like you have established some very healthy boundaries for your work/life balance. Rereading the last pages of your work is a very practical way to junpstart one's writing after a break.
Taking a vacation when the hubby does is also a great suggestion.
Kris
Well, I'm still working my way back. A year-long case of shingles put a lot of things into perspective.
For now, I'm tip-toeing into the book business by getting that 4th Charlie Chameleon book ready to begin pre-launch.
In the meantime my other projects pace in the background of my mind.
Vacay sounds like an awesome idea!
Hi Ellen,
As my long-time Wednesday night writing group friend, I've seen the horrible drama that can cause. You've been through a lot! (And a move too!) It's cool that you are revisiting the children's book series and are working on your other projects as well.
The one I can't wait for is The Hobo Code. Historical fiction and YA? Yes, please!
We had four deaths in the family within 11 months. We actively helped one relative through hospice and then going through the estate, which is not quite closed.
A friend shared an anthology opportunity, and I managed to write for the first time since we went through that year.
I don't take breaks - I'm the slowest writer in creation as it is - but I do need a functioning brain and body to write, and it has not been a good couple of years.
Pain makes it even worse, and I haven't had breaks from that (and some PT that might help isn't available to me until MAY!).
I find it exhausting to come back each time and figure out where I was, but have adapted my writing process over 30 years to let me write when I can, and still have it work together in the end, mainly because I'm an extreme plotter, and know exactly where I'm going with my mainstream trilogy, Pride's Children.
Without that rigid process I would have given up years ago, decades ago, but I want to finish the trilogy, and will, if I possibly can, so I write every day it's possible, and that's what has kept me sane all these years of ME/CFS plus other fun stuff.
If I write, I'm me. It's that simple.
Raising kids took time away, but I did sneak some nonfiction in. Here and there. I accepted the requirements of motherhood. I did feel a little rusty when I started back up, but in some ways I became a better writer with this new dimension of myself.
So great to have you with us! And great lessons.
For a time when my mother was ill, I couldn't write. And then when our family went through some tough times. Getting back in the groove? Happens slowly, but writing calls to me.