If you have a passion for creative hobbies, you know how difficult it can be to keep momentum on a project. With time and practice, we get better at blocking out distractions, but some things can't be blocked out. Some things, like a health crisis, or a plea for assistance from someone you care about who's always there for you, or a last-minute visit from your far away best friend who you haven't seen in years, cry out for attention, and you shouldn't feel guilty about giving it to them.
But what about our writing?
Take heart. There are things we can do to safeguard our progress and ensure that all is not lost.
First, though, be honest about something: how much of your time is this going to ensnare?
This is less mercenary than it sounds. All you're trying to ascertain is whether this is more of a one day detour, as in a visit from a long lost friend (still tricky, if you're just getting into a writing groove and reluctant to leave it, but doable), or if this will have fuzzier parameters, as in the case of something like a health crisis.
The steps that follow consider a scenario somewhere in the middle, but you can apply them however you like.
Centre yourself
Take a deep breath. Be gentle. Whatever is going on right now, remember: it's important to maintain a connection - even a tenuous one - to your life, the people and things and dreams that make you who you are. Soon you'll be on the other side of this situation, whether it be one of joy or sorrow, but for now it is here, and it needs to be dealt with and processed and, in some cases, enjoyed! And when this time has passed, the beating heart of your life will still be there for you.
Back up your work
If you don't already have a back-up method, for now just keep it simple and email your current draft and any reference materials to your own email account as attachments. The last thing you need right now is to lose your precious work!
Keep track of what's next
If you were about to introduce a new character or weave in a subplot or incorporate the suggestions from your beta reader, write those things down, and any other notes you need. Make it as easy as possible to slip back into the writing flow upon your return.
Let go
Whatever's going on right now, it needs you more than your writing does. Step away and don't look back. Your muse will wait for you. I promise.
Don't be hasty
Once your time is your own again, you might be tempted to jump back into your writing, full steam ahead. Depending on what's been going on, though, you might need a day or two to decompress. Take it. Listen to music, read a book, go for a hike. Whatever you need. (And if this time of taking a breather happens to inspire a plot bunny to run across your path, write it down!)
Get your bearings
Remember the notes you made before, about what scene you were going to write next or what part of the rewriting process you were in? Now's the time to pull them out and review. If it all feels hazy and unfamiliar, find a prompt and do some freewriting first. It doesn't have to be about your story, though it can be.
(On the hunt for new prompts? Among others, I love the ones in Judy Reeves' A Writer's Book of Days. For ones you can access online, I've created this collection of prompts!)
Ease into it
If you've only been away a day or two, you might be able to jump right back in. If you were away for longer, though, or if your writing routine had only just been established and is still in the fragile stage, proceed cautiously. You might need to work up to where you were before. Don't knock everything else in your life off-kilter just so you can get your writing back on track. Consistency is key.
Watch for roadblocks
From this point on, it may be smooth sailing, or you may hit the occasional bump in the road. Either way, it's okay! You're getting back on track and that is awesome. You should be proud of yourself.
Speaking from personal experience, if the event that sidelined your writing in the first place was particularly emotional, you may still be processing it, along with a heap of physical and/or mental exhaustion. Don't be surprised if elements of the event itself seep into your writing, or if you need to step away at times. The main thing is to come back to your writing, again and again, until the story trusts you once more.
When all's said and done ...
Even in the best of times, it's not always easy to maintain a steady writing routine. Returning to it after a hiatus can be tricksy, but it can also be an enormous relief! Settling into the rhythm of putting words on the page, listening to your characters, crafting your story ... it's a meditation all its own.