It’s the morning after the night before…  Actually, it’s the “evening” after the night before.  Last night, I had a public reading of the play (“Out to the Folks”) I’ve been working on for two years.  And I’m still basking in the afterglow…

However, I don’t want to fall into the trap that I usually fall into after working on a play for a long time.  I tell myself that I need a break and that break grows from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.  The next thing I know, a couple of months have gone by and I haven’t been doing any significant writing.

Usually, there is a flurry of activity to get a draft ready.  I build up a momentum of writing.  It’s a great feeling.  It’s like starting an exercise program, but past the hard part of getting started.   Kind of like being in the fourth week of an exercise regimen.  You do it because you know you should do it and because it actually feels good.

But…  If you stop the exercise regimen for a few days, you’re in trouble.  Let it go more than a week without doing anything and you’re done.  You almost have to start from zero to get back into the easy rhythm of the process.

I have been doing a lot of playwriting for the last couple of weeks.  And the culmination was last night.  Today, I did nothing and it felt great.  But, I don’t want to lose the momentum that I’ve built up, so instead of taking a break, I’m going to focus on another project.

And this time, I’m really going to do some work on it!  I have three other projects that I am keen to do more work on.  I’m also keen to get back to work on “Out to the Folks”, so the plan is to only let it rest for a week.

I’ve spent a lot of effort to build up the fire of creativity and writing, so I don’t want to allow it to go out because of an extended break.  I’ve got to keep the flame alive!

© 2014 Peter Gruner