Is Taking a Writing Sabbatical Worth the Time Away?

I loved the break, though maybe not for the reason most people would think.

I approached the sabbatical with equal measures of excitement and apprehension. I was glad to be out of the office, away from the bank of overhead televisions blaring the hourly apocalypse, unchained from the pressures of concocting and delivering stories. At the same time, I wondered whether I'd be disciplined enough to exploit the opportunity to think about fiction only. Would I behave as if this was a vacation? Might I start cracking beers before noon?

I set a goal of writing 1,000 words a day. I know authors who write a lot more, but I didn't want to risk discouraging myself by being unrealistic. Hell, it took me almost four years to write my current novel, Bleak Harbor-an eternity to most writers in my genre.