This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love. If you buy something through one of those links, there is no additional cost to you, but I may receive a small commission, which helps pay for my continued work. Read my affiliate disclosures here.
My husband is an artist. He takes a piece of leather, a laser cutter, and some paint, and makes these beautiful works of art. He’s made eels and satellites and faces and, my new favorite, a stag. He can knock out a new one in a matter of hours, and I’m always astounded by the piece of art he can make in an afternoon.
But sometimes, he just doesn’t make anything at all.
Some afternoons, he says, “I don’t know what to make. I think I’m going to rest instead.”
And so he does.
He sits on the couch or watches TV or scrolls through social media or talks to friends or whatever appeals to him that day, but he doesn’t do creative work. He takes a break from the deep work of always making something.
And then the next day, or sometimes the day after that, he says, “I have an idea!” and he’s back in his workshop, creating his next masterpiece.
That rest provides white space, a break from creativity, from your brain always being on. That rest is exactly what his brain needs.
Do you give yourself enough white space?
Writers are often always on. Thinking about their characters (or talking to them!). Building a world in their head. Plotting out the next section of the book. Formulating new ideas. Thinking about new titles. Brainstorming goals, motivations, and conflicts. Trying so damn hard to be creative.
But what about the white space?
It’s no coincidence that so many of us get our brilliant ideas in the shower. The ten or fifteen minutes we spend standing under the hot water can provide brilliant white space, where our brains are free to meander where they want, and BAM! There’s the new idea you’ve been struggling with for days.
So maybe take an afternoon off and just do nothing. Sit outside in a shady spot and soak up nature. Meditate for ten minutes. Sit on the couch and just be. Hell, take another shower.
Take a few minutes to give your creativity a break.