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For most people, December can be an incredibly busy time of year. I know, in my experience, my family is very involved during the holidays. Almost every weekend, we’re out of the house doing something with the family. Sometimes, this ends up being Saturday and Sunday, which leaves very little time for anything else.
On top of this as a teen author, this season is also finals season, as if this time of year wasn’t busy enough. Between family and school, writing oftentimes has to take the back burner. For me, this ends up being somewhat of a yearly tradition. Most often whatever project I’m working on gets shelved throughout the month of December and gathers dust until after Christmas day. Now, if you’re my mother scolding me for editing every day over fall break this is fine. Unfortunately, I’m an overachiever and a former gifted kid, and don’t know how to stop working even when I’m incredibly busy or finally have a day off for the first time in weeks.
I don’t like taking a break from writing; it often makes me feel like I’m not doing enough. Writing, if you’re going the traditional route or Indie publishing is not an easy path. I’m not trying to be negative, but for the amount of people who try for this path, most of them don’t make it. The careers of the authors we love, or more specifically the ones who are the most recognizable, are incredibly rare. Most people won’t make it to that level of success, and you definitely won’t make it there without putting in an obscene amount of work.
I have a backup plan, which until anything happens with my writing is my plan A, unfortunately. For me, this means I just have to work harder in the time I have to make my dream a reality. Taking a break, unless it’s something I’m procrastinating, is not something that comes naturally to me. I’ve been known to work on one thing for hours at a time without a break until my body reminds me that I actually need to move or my back is going to start causing me problems again.
Nonetheless December is one of the times of year I find it the hardest to meet my self imposed goals. School? That’s fine unless I want my grades to drop I’ll get the work done. Family? Don’t really have a choice in the matter, and either way I love my family more than anything else in the world. It’s a lesson I’ve struggled to learn over the years, but the more experience I get the more true it seems to be.
It’s okay to take a break. It’s necessary to take a break. We’re human, we can not go full tilt 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s not feasible, and more importantly it’s far from healthy. Whether December is your slump time like me, or it’s some other time of year you find busy, give yourself grace. We’re only human, we have boundaries we need to adhere to. Take a break when you need to, even if it means taking a month off to make sure your at the top of your game when it’s time to come back.
About the author
Milla Picket is a senior at Poudre High School, and this is her first year writing for the Poudre Press. In her free time, she is involved in the school's choir and theatre department. She is also a writer currently working on her first fantasy novel for publication.
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