Okay, Christmas is over, the stockings are put away, the tree is out on the curb, and the parties are all behind me. It’s time to get back to my book. I tried to keep up by writing when I could. I wrote about 5,000 words in December. That kept my head in the book, but alas I’m way behind my writing goal. It felt like the project I was so passionate about just a few weeks ago is now a job, or something my teacher assigned and I have to do.

The hardest part about putting a book aside is picking it back up. What was the Main character’s father’s name? Where exactly did she go to school? Who was her coach in high school. What was that old boy friend’s name and why was it so important for her to reach that goal? The passion has waned and now I have to pick it all back up again. It’s like spilling your jewelry box across the floor and trying to pick everything up and match it again.

One way to do it, is to go back and reread the whole thing. Another is to reread your plot line (this is recommended by me. But you have to have one in order to do this). If you find the plot line feels a little old, add some new twists, heighten the tension by giving the character a stronger reason to reach her/his goal.

Set a new writing goal. Mine is 1,000 words/five days a week.

I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, keep writing.