Writer's Hiatus by Susan Barclay

October 2014-December 2015 were pretty dry writing months for me. It wasn’t so much that the brain juices weren’t flowing, but that my life became busier. My mom was living with us, and my daughter’s friend, Karen, also lived with us during the summer, leaving me with little time to myself. I’m one of those writers who need to work in complete silence. My mom and Karen don’t know what silence is.

So… time goes by. Karen moves into an apartment with friends in September 2015; my mom moves back home in January 2016. I feel like a newbie writer again, or as my kids might say, a noob. How and where do I begin?

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. -St. Francis of Assisi

These words mean a lot to me. “Start by doing what’s necessary.” What’s necessary is for me to begin writing – something, anything. I begin by creating a new blog and posting regularly. That seems small and fairly non-threatening. I share the news with my old blog readers and my Facebook friends. That’s as much exposure as I want during this time of “sprouting new leaves again.”

Next, I "do what's possible." I pick up my novel, which if not on the computer would be gathering dust on a shelf. I go back to the beginning and start editing as a way to remind myself of the story and to do the nurturing that begins after a gestation period. No matter how many times I return to page one, I always find ways to make the work better. My brain cylinders have been firing even if my fingers have been resting.

Suddenly I am "doing the impossible." I’m writing new material – new sentences, paragraphs, chapters. I never stopped attending my writers’ groups, but now I’m participating more fully and feeling more engaged. There’s work to be done, additional changes to make, a challenge to be embraced. It’s exhilarating. Would I have been open to all of this had my earlier work not come to a halt?

I’m not sure. And so I am grateful for the respite and repose. It’s not as if nothing was happening with my writing during this period; it was all just happening behind the scenes, and I was unaware of it.

Recently I came across two very affirming thoughts I’d like to leave you with: 

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. -J. Pierpont Morgan

You don’t want to break forever. Sometimes, as in my case, you don’t have a choice as to the length of time you take off. Other times, you do. When you do, take the proverbial bull by the horns. Decide to move forward, then act.

Remember this also:

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. -Louis Pasteur

It takes tenacity to be a writer. Don’t let a little thing like a hiatus deter or discourage you. Use the time to let thoughts and ideas percolate. Then return and take the world by storm.

The Benefits of Falling Off the Tree - Ramona Heikel

I am in my first dry spell in my twenty-year writing practice.  I have little ideas here and there, but I miss the joy of being driven by a large concept and message significant enough to fill a book manuscript. 

On my good days I am okay with this, because I can usually trust God to manage my writing life. But other times can be a challenge, such as when I foolishly swing by the Writing Section in a library or bookstore--and I read about how I can make my (future?) characters more colorful or believable,  successfully market my (non-existent) non-fiction book, or do school visits for my (unpublished) children's picture book. 

Then I feel like a little child standing behind a six-foot high chain-link fence, watching the big kids having all the fun.

So what's a writer to do?

Believe.

Have faith. Wait patiently. Be open. Pray. Expect. Be grateful for the "rest".

Perhaps that's oversimplifying it, I don't know. But to help me believe, and draw encouragement, I study nature. I tend to look at nature and see God.  My mind translates nature's ways into how God works, and how life works.

So I ask myself, "What actually happens during the shedding of leaves? It seems like such a sad, dreary time, so why does a good God set up an annual season of bleak, bare, bony trees? Isn't God all about life, evidenced in beauty and greenery?"

Here is what my research turned up, along with my rather abstract metaphorical responses. (I hope you will humor me!)

When the cool, dry weather comes along, and the food production of the leaves slows down, the tree intentionally cuts off the leaves in order for the tree and branches to survive. So in a way, if my creative leaves fall off the tree, that can be a benefit to the branches and trees. And who are the branches and trees? I'm not sure, but "I am the vine (tree?), you are the branches" comes to mind.

The tree reabsorbs the nutrients from the leaves before they fall, and stores them in the roots. That is a positive concept: creativity is not wasted during dry times, it is stored for the future.

Shedding its leaves may help trees pollinate in the spring, and many trees flower while they are still leafless. Pollinating and flowering make me think of bearing fruit. Perhaps, because of some transformation during this dry period, my future articles and stories will spread more widely and bear more fruit.

Losing leaves may help reduce damage to the tree by insects. When I think of insects I think of pests, annoyances and antagonism. Maybe in some mysterious way my fallow writing times can give me the strength to resist pesky doubts and discouragement.

Leaves on the ground put mineral salts and nutrients back into the soil, and the acids of decaying leaves dissolve rocks into the soil (replenishing it with sulphur, phosphorus, potash, iron, silica). This is provision for future blossoms of creative thought: nourishing the soul and spirit while it is at rest, thereby creating a deep well to draw from, rather than a shallow stream.

Wildlife species live in, or rely on, the layer of fallen leaves. These leaves, then, provide a benefit for the natural community. Could our restful times somehow benefit our fellow writers, or the collective body of writing? Of course.

I am fascinated and comforted by nature and its messages. I hope these facts and conjectures will provide an encouraging perspective--and a starting place for your own ponderings--during an autumn or winter in your own writing experience.

Ramona Heikel

Happilywriting.com

Leaves photos by Unsplash, public domain, https://pixabay.com/en/leaves-tree-ground-autumn-fall-984463/ 

If you're interested, I found information about the science behind falling leaves at these links (the NPR link is quite entertaining!) :

https://www.highlightskids.com/science-questions/how-and-why-do-leaves-fall-trees

http://earthsky.org/earth/why-do-trees-shed-their-leaves

http://www.instantanswer.org/why-do-trees-lose-their-leaves_955.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114288700

http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/why-do-leaves-shed-in-fall/

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/A_Year_in_the_Wonderland_of_Trees_/whyarede_b.html