After completing the second draft of my novel, I was ready to jump right into my third draft. Forget being patient, I have a self-imposed goal, and I would hate to waste any time in the writing process. However, instead of jumping right into writing, I put a reminder on my phone for a week later to read my draft before making even one change to the copy. My mind needed a break. I was consumed by this world I created for the past couple months that I needed to put some space between me and it.
A mental break is the perfect remedy for most situations. In fact, many studies have proven that breaks help with productivity.
The importance of taking breaks became quite clear to me when I picked up a puzzle I abandoned a year ago.
Last summer, I traveled to Ireland and had a wonderful time experiencing the Emerald Isle. Dublin, Cork, Galway – every city had something different to explore, and trust me, I toured it all. One highlight of the trip was the Guinness Factory in Dublin, where I learned about the beer-making process and enjoyed a pint at the top of the factory, overlooking the city. Of course, I needed a souvenir to remember my time, and I didn’t want just a magnet or a pen, which is how I went home with the barrel puzzle – a wooden puzzle made up of about 20 or so pieces that when put together properly, takes the shape of a barrel.
When I came home from the trip, I immediately disassembled the puzzle and tried to solve it. Except I didn’t pay attention to how it was originally set up. I took apart all the pieces, with only faith in my puzzle-solving abilities, and hoped for the best.
Over the course of a few weeks, I reassembled and pulled apart that puzzle at least a hundred times, and each time, there was at least one piece that didn’t fit properly. I did this at home, while watching TV, during zoom calls; I even tried to watch YouTube videos online on how to solve the dang thing. There came a point where I gave up. I couldn’t figure it out. The rest of the barrel was put together, and it was basically solved, except for the one lone wooden piece that didn’t fit anywhere. In my frustration, I put the puzzle back into the box, laying the one piece on top, and pushed the opened box to the corner of my bookcase.
Fast forward to a year later, where I sat at home on a work call and saw the puzzle collecting dust. I pulled out the box with the one loose piece, and studied the barrel. If I jimmied the piece in one direction and aligned it with another piece before slotting it into place, it should work.
That’s how, in five minutes, the barrel was whole once more.
So what happened? Why was I able to solve the barrel puzzle after only five minutes, when a year ago it seemed impossible?
Time away from the problem helped. Like with anything, a break helps the brain refresh – it’s why taking vacation time off work is so important. In my case, I became absolutely obsessed with trying to solve the puzzle; I was too focused on the detail that I couldn’t see the big picture.
The same can be said with writing. Time away from writing – whether you’ve trying to solve a problem your character found themselves in or you’ve completed a draft of your novel – is vital to both you and the output of your writing. The time away will help you as the author see what is and isn’t working. And who knows – maybe you’ll be able to figure out how the murderer was able to get away with it for so long.