Writing By Taking a Break From Writing
This month of May is now two-thirds over. I have been a busy bee this beautiful “summeresque” month. My wife and I moved into a new townhouse(still renters, yes, but now we have a nice backyard and upstairs). Though the new home was just a block away from our old apartment, relocating still required carrying dozens and dozens of boxes and lifting heavy or awkward furniture and appliances. Looking at my online writing activity(not just on Medium but also on other favorite spots like Quora and Reddit), I realize my monthly activity has dwindled from normal levels. But with all my physical exertion and busyness, I did not feel like I had fallen behind or missed out on anything.
You can be inactive from a loved pastime but still have that pastime actively be a part of you. Like a bookmark left in a favorite masterpiece, your time away from an endeavor is itself a type of engagement. You are waiting to return to it again.
With the unbounded world of writing encompassing all areas of our life and world(for the part that can be written about), we are constantly already forming outlines for drafts as we go about our lives. Every single conversation, taste, smell, sound, trifling, and inkling can stem into the next big piece.
I certainly have plenty of new experiences to write about from the last couple of weeks. Quick furniture moving workout guides — parts 1, 2, and 3. A few may include deeper reasons for vacuuming a carpet about ready to be disposed of, how to carry ten more boxes when you can hardly sit down because your back is so worn out, or the different effects of popular cleaning products.
Indeed, even when taking a break from writing we are writing. This is similar to the premise that we solve many of our day’s problems while in nightly sleep or the realization that some of our greatest prayers are said in silence. Is it the case that part of us is never resting from writing?
