Funny word… hiatus.
The origin is of an anatomical nature.
We use it today, mostly in the context of our favorite t.v. shows, when they go into their production breaks.
When I was a kid it was called the “summer hiatus.” That’s when the re-runs would kick in.
The general usage though, as stated in the online dictionary, is “a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.”
It’s taken directly from Latin “hiatus” “opening; aperture; rupture.” In a material object, especially anatomy.”
If you’ve read me before you may have heard me mention the sport of archery, and the technique of sighting in an arrow with a compound bow, using the phrase “chase the arrow.”
In order to “chase the arrow” you need to look through two material pieces of equipment…
One is: your “peep” sight, a small, oval shaped piece of rubber that has the center of the oval as the opening, this opening is then lined up with your sighting/aiming “pin.”
The other is: the sight pin “aperture” the “hiatus.” The sight pin is movable within the aperture/hiatus, so you can chase your arrow to accuracy.
I was recently placed on a writing hiatus because of two reasons…
- I was on a bow hunting scouting trip, hanging trail cameras, where I have no cell phone connection or other internet connections. So I was unable to hit a weekly writing goal, even though I had the time if I would have had a connection.
- My four month old granddaughter needed watching. My son and daughter-in-law went back to work and we offered to help with the baby, as our schedules allow us to. (Thank you Jesus!)
As I came out of those responsibilities it struck me that a little break from your work, a short hiatus, can be a great aperture to look through to make sure your sight pin is settled on your true target/goals.
I am moving forward with my writing as a part time job venture which means I have to get a little more serious about it and start dedicating time to the successful steps needed to attain that goal.
I have some family issues going on in the next few weeks that take precedent over any extracurricular activities I may have.
My experience has been… when it comes to my kids, and now this grand baby, they come first.
Oh, I’ll still write when I can. Which means late at night. I won’t hit any record setting word production or sales records.
That’s o.k.
Because… I am staring through that aperture; using that little unexpected hiatus, to line up my personal writing sight pin… with my personal writing targets & goals.
Even though it’s been just over a week without any serious writing… it feels good to be back at it.
Have you been on hiatus lately?
Do you need to be?
It could be quite beneficial. Take a breath. Settle on your target. Look through the hiatus, line up your successful steps with that target, breath out slowly… and release that next arrow!
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