A lot of talk goes into what writing habit you should maintain. When you should write. How many pages a day you should hit. How many scripts a year.
And yes, that’s important. If you aim to be a professional, you need to be able to regularly and reliably turn out pages. In some ways it’s even more difficult when writing is still a passion – you have to carve out that time around so many other priorities.
But also important is that you forgive yourself when you don’t hit those goals. That you don’t see a day, a week, or a month without writing as a total loss. Sometimes you need to stop. Burnout is real.
It’s tough, because it’s a fine line. Yes, for writing to be a job you have to show up even when the muse doesn’t. But you still need something in the tank to actually have words and thoughts to put down.
So give yourself a break. Especially now, in the midst of a pandemic and, in the states, political turmoil. Engage with your writing community and peers. Commiserate. Have a laugh. Recharge.
And then tomorrow, you can get back to it.