#gray h

The first few days of leaving my project alone had made me feel uneasy. All I wanted to do was fix mistakes and go through with edits in each chapter. Instead of doing so, I switched my focus to edit a different project titled Your Starlit Ceiling, which was an abandoned fanfiction of three or four years. Both projects had a comparable genre and plot: they were a second-chance gay romance.

Throughout May, I had gained new ideas and scenes to add in Project Rekindle. What comments I received for Your Starlit Ceiling helped me to know what people liked (although, it was a fanfiction; I received nothing negative as of yet). Those positive comments allowed me to think of how I could reuse or alternate certain scenes to include them in my main novella.

Another thing I did was read a romance story. This one was a contemporary lesbian romance titled Love's Tender Warriors by Radclyffe. This novella helped me to write a couple of scenes with passion in Your Starlit Ceiling, as well as it allowed me to know what I truly am capable of with my writing style. I learned how sometimes, the physical sensations are a lot more important than emotional sensations. A warm hand on one's back could soothe the anxiety they would feel, or a breath caught in their chest with a racing heart could describe the kiss better than "they pressed their lips together."

Although I discovered a lot during my break, I am still learning and coming up with more ideas for my main project (if not, then for my future stories). For Project Rekindle, the first chapter will be different, there will be more scenes, and there will be changes throughout the entire draft while sticking true to the original plot and idea. Taking a break for a long month may seem intimidating at first, but giving yourself time to focus on other projects or reading similar books could help you gain more ideas until you are ready to switch back to the main project.

To wrap up :: Shelf your project for a month. Shift your focus on either taking a break or working on a different project (but do know your limits; take a break when you need to). Read; focus on character development, think of why the characters feel and act the way they do and pay attention to the style of the writing. And especially ask questions! Does the author define emotions more than a physical feeling in a certain scene? Why do you think they did that?

As always, happy writing!