I'm going to take a break from writing for the rest of the year. I'm not trying to be, like, dramatic. It's just something I need to do. Nothing good is going on at the moment, so I want to chill out and see how I feel in aught-nine.
In the meantime, I plan to make a To-Do list and spend any time during the month of December when I would have been writing, completing the things on the list. I don't mean a list of life-changing things like in the manuscript I've been working on. I mean, cleaning the carpet, decluttering the attic and my office, and yard work. Stuff like that. I want to get my house in good shape. (Ha!) I'll do some more baking, too. And I'll go through my cookbooks to find new recipes.
In addition, I'll try to cut down way down on my computer/internet time. I've committed to doing some critiques over the next week, so I'll make good on those. And then, no more until January.
I want to rent some movies. Musicals of all kinds! (They're my latest obsession after watching MAMMA MIA and ACROSS THE UNIVERSE during the past week. All my dreams lately have included spontaneously singing and dancing. Musicals = Mindi happy.) I want to watch other types of movies, too. What else? I don't know!
And I'll read. Books. Every day. A book a day. Or maybe a book every two days. Or none at all when I don't feel like reading! Whatever. No pressure. I think I'll just take this time to step away from YA and remind myself what else is out there. (Although I do have one or two YAs on my shelf that I've been meaning to read for months. I might start with them.)
I really want to read some adult fiction and see if I can still stand it. It's been so long. Can you believe there used to be a time when I read John Grisham and Rosamunde Pilcher and Amy Tan? Me neither.
Maybe I should read some biographies. I have a Jim Morrison one that's been sitting around here for three years. How about an adult novel by Sherman Alexie? Hmm. What else? I'm putting together a library hold list right now. Recommendations would be swell! Tell me something good by Steinbeck. And what's that really dirty book? THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP? Yes? No? Should I read it? Or some Kurt Vonnegut? What else?