when the writing would break us open

"So what I think is this:

We write when we are supposed to, when to do otherwise would mean destruction, when we know we need to; and when the writing would break us open, when we are not ready for the current world to drown, we stop. We wait. We gather our strength.

Then, when we are ready, we pour our story out into the world to swim with all the rest."

[source]