Of the major sports followed in my household, NFL players have the longest off-season. They show up for training in mid-July, and play the final showdown in February, but most teams are only actively playing games from September to January. There’s only one game a week at most.

Compare that to hockey, the longest season. They play 81 games next to football’s 15-18. As for the MLB, those guys are toughing it out through 162 games in the regular season. It’s those guys I seem to identify with the most since my writing season has been year round lately.

The idea of an off-season ran through my head this week as I was feeling bad for the Detroit Tigers (facing a longer—well, more frustrating and seemingly longer– off-season than normal due to the ridiculous way baseball playoffs are set up). I began to wonder what I would do in an off-season if I could take one as a writer.

Now, of course I can schedule a yearly off-season for myself. I could put out books for six months of the year and then take the rest of the time off. Except what if readers forgot about me? Fans don’t forget about Derek Jeter in January, but I don’t exactly have that kind of following.

But if I could have a yearly off-season, I would put it to good use. While the NFL guys are pumping iron for their next games, I’d be studying my craft. Downtime from writing could be devoted to reading the classics and thinking about how I could learn from them. Or I could read more how-to write books that could inspire new approaches to my work. That’s the writerly equivalent of bulking up.

I could also spend my time reading travel magazines for some exotic locales to set stories. Maybe I’d revisit the Kama Sutra because, well, you know. I might have forgotten some things my heroes and heroines would be glad to know. Then, I’d pursue some really different interest that doesn’t have much to do with anything—wine-making, for example—and pass along this enthusiasm to a character. Three-dimensional characters only arise from an author’s pen if they’ve taken time to give intriguing facets to their fictional creation. It’s the sports equivalent of studying the playbook and adding a few new twists.

My favorite part of the off-season would be the occasional team-building exercise—getting together with author friends and readers to remind myself of the most fun aspects of the job. Ideally, people play sports because they love the game. I know I write because I love it! But the little stresses of any job can pick away at your love of it if you’re not careful. Scheduling an outing with enthusiastic friends and supporters is important to maintain focus on the good stuff and to solidify your sense of community on the field.

But maybe one of the most important functions of the off-season is to create a hunger for the game. It’s not fun to do the same thing day in and day out for years on end, even if you love it. Taking a break from what you love helps give you renewed respect and appreciation for it. Sometimes we take our favorite things for granted when we indulge in them constantly. Absence makes the heart grow fonder during the downtime. You not only come back recharged and energized, you come back grateful to get to do what you love all over again. Just ask Brett Favre.

Of course, I haven’t instituted a full-fledged off-season for myself as a writer. But in the years since I sold that first book, I’ve gotten better about scheduling more breaks between projects. More than ever, I’ve seen how the breaks aren’t breaks at all—they’re necessary to the ebb and flow of creativity, the quiet dead of winter that makes the spring possible. I hope you’re able to give yourself the gift of an off-season this year. Or two.

**If you could take a break from work right now—a whole three weeks off—what would you do? Take a trip if you could take paid leave? Or would you settle into the house in our pjs and soak up the feel of doing nothing? Chat with me on the boards today and I’ll giveaway a signed book from my backlist to one random poster. ***

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 10:22 am and is filed under Joanne Rock. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.