{"id":645,"date":"2011-08-19T11:17:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T18:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=645"},"modified":"2011-08-19T11:21:40","modified_gmt":"2011-08-19T18:21:40","slug":"taking-a-break-to-de-clutter-the-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/taking-a-break-to-de-clutter-the-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking A Break To De-clutter The Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Paradise Meadows Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

Since I\u2019ve been up to my eyeballs trying to figure out the next steps in my writing life \u2014and getting confused as to which direction to take\u2014I took a break and went for a hike.<\/p>\n

What always boggles my mind is how refreshed I feel after a walk in the woods, and why I don\u2019t do it more often. Staring at greenery instead of at a computer screen calmed my mind. Breathing fresh air and moving my limbs out of doors worked wonders for my brain. I returned to my desk with a renewed spirit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It turned out that marvelling at snow packs on the mountains, wild flowers by the trail, and whiskey jacks energized me for another look at the query letter I\u2019ve been submitting for my novel. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s as if those moments on Paradise Meadows\u2014you couldn\u2019t ask for a more perfect name\u2014helped me see the flaws in my pitch to agents, ones I hadn\u2019t seen before. Maybe there was too much clutter, not only on my desk, but in my mind. I got rid of some extraneous that(s)<\/em> and the(s)<\/em> plus a few modifiers and clauses. Even a sentence or two.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I now realize, just like I have post-it notes by my computer to remind me of what I need in my stories, I need post-it-notes to remind me to take a writing break to de-clutter my mind.<\/p>\n

I wonder what other ways writers have found to de-clutter their minds. This one works for me, but I’m open to other suggestions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since I\u2019ve been up to my eyeballs trying to figure out the next steps in my writing life \u2014and getting confused as to which direction to take\u2014I took a break… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[9,153,152,5],"class_list":["post-645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-novel","tag-query-letter","tag-taking-a-break-to-de-clutter-the-mind","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-ap","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":353,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/like-a-clothes-closet\/","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":0},"title":"Like a clothes closet","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"26 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I've had some interest in my novel, I thought it wouldn't hurt to revisit what I've written and make sure it's as good as it can get. What stunned me--you'd think I'd know by now--is the number of edits I can still make. A first draft is often stuffed\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4680,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/uncategorized\/recharged-in-ucluelet\/","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":1},"title":"Recharged in Ucluelet","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"19 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"There's nothing like getting recharged in Ucluelet, a small seaside community on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A Good Break From Writing Robert and I went with friends to this lovely spot a few weeks ago, during a very rainy time. We stayed in a gem of\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"recharged in ucluelet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8838-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8838-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8838-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8838-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/IMG_8838-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":501,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/writing-as-therapy\/","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":2},"title":"Writing As Therapy","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"16 \u041b\u0438\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Although I've written many poems, I've only published one poem on my site. For me, poetry has been largely a way to deal with powerful feelings that arise, often unexpected and unwelcomed. It's writing as therapy. Right now, I've been struggling with emotions over my daughter's plight. I've been resistant\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/P1020387-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":203,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/stories\/","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":3},"title":"My Mother’s Stories","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"10 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm visiting my 95 year old mother in a personal care home. My mother was a wonderful storyteller but now her mind is failing.\u00a0 She can no longer remember details, but when I mention a slice of a narrative she gave me many years ago, her mind clicks in and\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1951,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/20-genders-and-more-really\/","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":4},"title":"20 Genders And More, Really?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"25 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning\u2014while taking a break from writing\u00a0a\u00a0novelette, one that shows sex in the 50s\u2014a letter to the editor in a recent Maclean\u2019s magazine caught my attention. The writer mentioned that the government of Ontario\u2019s sex ed. program is planning on teaching\u00a0six genders, when in fact, there are more than 20\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gender Identity","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/genderbread-person-gender-identity-graphic.jpg?fit=556%2C1133&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/genderbread-person-gender-identity-graphic.jpg?fit=556%2C1133&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/genderbread-person-gender-identity-graphic.jpg?fit=556%2C1133&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1293,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/the-meandering-writer\/","url_meta":{"origin":645,"position":5},"title":"The Meandering Writer","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"27 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I don\u2019t know what it is but lately I\u2019ve been having difficulty getting my footing. Some of it has to do with adjustments in the new year. I know, it\u2019s the end of February, but I\u2019m still feeling disorganized as far as my writing life goes. 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