Carving out the time

So sorry for missing my post last week!

About two weeks ago, I had to be hospitalized for contractions since I was only 34 weeks at the time, which is still a little early for baby boy to come. Thankfully, I was able to go home the next evening but I had to take this awful medicine to keep the contractions away that made my legs swell up anytime I was up for more than 10 minutes at a time.

I've been a little distracted lately. ;) I'm trying to make sure I have everything done that needs to be done, especially now that I've been taken off the medicine (yay!) and cleared for labor ( double yay!). I started with a list about 47 items long that needed to be taken care of before our little guy gets here and we're down to just the last few - thanks in most part to my amazing husband.

Soooo...all that to say, I've gotten little to no writing done in the last couple of weeks because even though "bed rest" sounded to me like "lay around and write all day", I was way too busy trying to get everything else done that I could in the sitting position (like folding laundry and finishing up baby blankets and such).

I'm hoping to get back to working on my WIP this afternoon during my son's rest time because I would really love to finish it before little brother comes!!

Anyone else out there trying to get back into writing after an extended break? Here's a quick list on how to get back into the swing of the story!

1. Read back through the last couple of chapters you wrote.
Nothing gets me back into the voice or mood of the story like reading back through it. Plus, it helps jog my memory on the little details (his eyes are blue, her dad's name is Gene, all those things).

2. Start when you are rested and ready.
Sometimes this isn't as practical as other times (I feel like lately I've been fighting sleep anytime I sit down!). But it really is best if you can start back into it when you have a good amount of time to devote to it. Writing a sentence or two at a time is going to make your writing feel choppy to the reader.

3. Think through where you want the story to go.
I don't outline and so sometimes I can get very forgetful of where I was taking the story before I stopped working on it. There are times when it can be more productive to spend a day or two thinking through where you want the story to go instead of actually writing. That way, when you really sit down to write, you have a plan of action instead of floundering around.

I hope these tips are helpful for you (and for me, since that's what I'm doing today)! What is your advice for getting back into writing after a break?