Every now and then, we take short breaks from writing. It could be a day, a week, or even a month. Life is unpredictable, and our writing duties are often neglected because of other pressing matters. Of course, nothing stops you from starting off again except yourself.

They say that repetition and practice are essential keys to success. I completely agree, and I guess you do too. Remember how easy was putting words on the paper? How about the fact that starting and finishing writing tasks was something that had to be done on a daily basis?

You need to get back in shape quickly! There’s often a huge problem when writers, bloggers, or any individuals that simply write encounter: After a longer break, your writing will look like crap. You’ll figure out that writing isn’t that easy how it used to be, so you might quickly give up.

Listen to me…these thoughts are normal. Your unconscious brain is trying to protect yourself from disappointment, so it generates resistance. Get out of this state of mind and become aware that you’re the one in control, and that it takes just a bit of will and action to put things back to normal.

During today’s post, you’re going to learn a few helpful things that’ll put you back on track. In fact, our tips might also be simple objective reminders of what needs to get done. Pay attention, and make sure that you make this lecture productive by taking quick steps and actions towards change.

1. Stop Being a Perfectionist

Every writer is a bit perfectionist. After a long break of writing, you’d be often tempted to think that your writing terribly sucks. You’d be tempted to believe that you’ve lost your skills and that you have to restart your learning process, and that might make you want to quit.

These were merely two simple examples of possible self-thought scenarios. There are many other thoughts that can make you feel totally bad and unprofessional. Do not self-sabotage yourself. Seriously…realize once and for all that every negative thought is an uncontrollable reaction coming from your subconscious.

If you become aware every time, avoiding or dealing with perfectionist thoughts will be very easy.

2. Start Reading & Copying other Writers

Writing breaks that become permanent breaks represent the biggest threat to a writer’s career. If you decide to get back to writing, though, you might feel that you’re not good enough and that you’ll never write like you’ve written before the break.

Dana Trinidad, professional writer at Best Essays, explains how picking up writing again is not that complicated if you actually know what to do:

“For all the writers who have trouble with picking up the habit again, here’s what you should do:
Take a day off and simply browse the web. Look for talented writers within your niche, and make a list of 5 writers. Then, decide 3 writers that impressed you the most. After you’ve made up your mind, read two or three of their articles (of each writer) each day.

Read critically – that means you should watch how they put the words in the sentence, how they express their ideas, what words and verbs they use, and what they avoid. In the same time, try to copy their style a bit while you’re practicing each day on your own.

3. Develop Habits Again

Writing should be a daily habit. Whenever habits are established in our lives, we no longer need motivation in order to start that task. It’s a part of our lifestyle, and we have already accepted and got used to it.

Create tiny habits and stick to every one of them each day. Example:

a) Write 500 words each day RIGHT AFTER you wake up and wash up
b) Create a longer article on Tuesdays and Thursdays after gym.
c) Analyze 3 writer’s works 30 minutes each day.

Make these habits very small and easy to approach. This way, you’ll build momentum. Writing will quickly seem painless, and the fun will come back soon.

4. Take Your Time

Please, do not rush! You need to take your time. Long breaks are often causing lots of damages. This refers to basically anything. If you’re used to eating a lot each day and then you suddenly change to rare meals, your organism will go crazy.

It’s the same with writing, only that the negative emotions come from your actual ego that tells you that you’re not good enough. Take things easy, be very patient with your “recovery process”, and you’ll witness success sooner than expected.

5. Maintain the Momentum by Writing Each Day no Matter What

Building momentum is great because it makes us “go on fire” with everything we do. Every time a bit of momentum is built as a result of a small action and/or accomplishment, we’re earning bits of motivation and inspiration. Creativity is also a very important resource to consider. Fortunately, it applies the same way, if we’re only able to maintain the momentum!

The thing is…holding the momentum is not even that hard. All that it takes is to write every day. It doesn’t matter if you write 250-300 words or 2500-3000 words. Focusing your brain on writing each day will slowly turn you into the confident writer that you used to be before, or even better!

Conclusion

Getting back in writing shape after a long pause is different for every writer. It’s a bit tricky and complicated, yes, but it can always be done. As a last strong advice, I’d suggest figuring out the most important reason for which you want to start writing again. Is it important enough?

If it is, connect yourself with that thought each day. If you’re emotionally connected to your desire of change, you’ll stand much more chances of success. I wish you good luck. And remember, writing is important, so what you do is…important!