inketernal:
The lighting is perfect, the mood set with the dull sound of life going on in the background. After almost a half hour of shifting and positioning pillows to their most comfortable, you’ve found the perfect position for optimal escape time. You lift up your home away from home, snuggling in and opening the door to your current squad of friends, ready for the adventure. But just as you begin to read, it happens; you’re under attack.Suddenly the low background noise is like a rave pounding through your mind, distracting, the light overhead becoming blindingly dull and hiding the words before you. There’s a moment of wonder to what’s going on and then a maniacal laugh as your arch-nemesis makes their appearance, more comfortable even then you and your well searched for pose.
The Slump has returned and is showing no signs of leaving anytime soon.
We’ve all experienced this at one time or another. The one enemy all bookworms have that will sometimes almost never leave us alone. I, myself, have all too recently been trapped by this fiend. For almost a year, I hadn’t read a thing, no matter how hard I tried and wanted to.
But now, I’m back. The hero of my own story, I never gave up and fought against The Slump until I won. And here’s how.
Instead of trying to get myself to read something brand new, I read something familiar. When I was in high school I found The Mediator series by Meg Cabot and fell in love with it. It’s easily one of my favorite series of all time because of Suze’s relatability (aside from the whole seeing ghosts thing) and the love you can’t help but develop for all the characters. I’d wanted to buy the rest of the series, being that I only owned two of the books, for years but I always bought something else instead. But then I found out that a new book in the series was released and that was all the push I needed.
I bought the new book, as well as the rest of the series that I was missing, and because I was in my slump I refused to read the latest one without reading the others first. I knew if I tried to read the new one while in a slump I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it properly or get through it and it would taint my view of the characters. And I couldn’t let that happen. So instead, I forced myself to read from the beginning to work myself out of the slump. And guess what? IT WORKED!
Rereading something that you already loved, while staring that annoyingly terrible slump in the face, is definitely the best way to get over it in my opinion. Because instead of having to get acquainted with this whole new world and characters, when you reread something it’s like you’re being welcomed back. It’s like running into an old friend, who you missed dearly, and easily falling back into the pattern of your easy banter. It’s like the welcome home party you never knew you needed and trust me, it’s amazing.
So the next time you’re in a slump, try revisiting that series or book you love. Drop in for a visit and let them distract you with their story once again. Surround yourself with the familiar while re-experiencing every moment and emotion as though for the first time. You’ll be freed from that slump almost as easily as it took over.
Wise words from my favorite human ☺️📚❣️
