…guess what day it is? I’ll wait here while you work through all of the standard hump-day jokes. No, seriously, they’re funny. Are you done?

It’s October 11th. Nice try. The Mean Girls‘ reference is October 3rd. Good joke, though.

It’s October 11th, which means I’ve come to the end of my rest period before I rewrite my book. I am proud to say that I made it a full month without reading or working on my manuscript. Aside from having it printed, I haven’t touched it at all.

For all of you fellow writers out there, you may wonder how I’ve done it. If you love your characters and story as much as I love mine, you might be intimidated by the idea of leaving them alone for a whole month of ‘rest’.

Here’s how I did it:

1. I worked. Yep. Eight hours a day, five days a week. Can’t really be tempted to work on a manuscript when you have to be focused on your day job.
2. I had stressful days. My car broke down this past weekend. A concert I’ve been looking forward to for months got cancelled. I had your typical crap that I had to deal with that forced me to think about and deal with things other than my story.
3. I spent more time with my friends and family. My mom and I observed our typical Saturday evening TV and dinner dates. I took my sister out for her birthday. I met up with my best friend and enjoyed her company over coffee and a long walk. I got in touch with several of my online friends and even made an awesome new friend.
4. I did research. As I wrote my book, I made a list of several topics I needed to learn more about so I don’t sound like an idiot when I write about them. And I’m happy to say that, at least for now, I feel like I’ve obtained the knowledge so I won’t sound like said-idiot as I write the second draft.
5. I continued to write, just not directly for my story. I jotted down notes for rewrite. I wrote some backstory for James and Character C’s relationship. I wrote for this blog. I wrote some stuff purely for fun. I think this break has made me more certain that I’m truly a writer than finishing my manuscript did.
6. I read a few books. I finished the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon. I read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. I just finished my newest ARC read, London Dates by Brad Tanner, yesterday.

Basically, I just kept myself busy. Somethings were out of my control. I have to work. I have to deal with the stress in my life. Somethings I needed to do because I’m a human being. I need to spend time with family and friends, as much as I claim to hate people and be a loner. Somethings I felt I had to do to keep my brain sharp as a writer. I did the research. I continued to write other things. I continued to read for pleasure.

But let me tell you something. I cannot wait to wake up in the morning and be with James and Character B. I’ve missed them like the real people they’ve come to be for me. And I can’t wait to see where this second draft takes us.