Monday, April 26, 2010

A Writer's Holiday

I am taking a writer's holiday. Is it here? Oh, how I wish.



No, this writer's holiday is simply a break between projects. For the moment, I have no revision notes from an agent or editor, no novel to finish or chapter to edit, no story line to conjure. But instead of feeling guilty and jumping right back into another project, I am taking a much needed break to recharge my braincells. And I feel absolutely fine about that.

Instead of writing, here's what I'm doing:

1) Cleaning my desk down to the actual bare wood, and dusting it. *yay*
2) Going through my stack of 'books to read,' propping my feet up without guilt, and reading.
3) Repotting the basket of pansies on my front porch into an old graniteware container.
4) Breaking out the ironing board and getting to the bottom of the ironing pile.
5) Giving yearly vaccinations to the horse, the donkey, and the dog.
6) Getting a massage and having a glass or two of good Chardonnay. (Life is too short to drink cheap wine, folks.)

This is not procrastination, or laziness, or unwillingness to "write every day." It is simply a wonderful break that will hopefully refresh and recharge my writing chops. My little "writer's holiday" might last a week, or a month, or longer, until I get some revision notes to work on, or another idea floats through my head and demands attention. But for now, my brain and I are enjoying a little down time.

Do you take writer's breaks? (Or any other kind of breaks?) What do you do to relax and recharge your mind?

8 comments:

Shelby Bach said...

Hurrah, Linda! I fully support writer's holidays!! The braincells DO get a little fried, and just like muscles, they need rest to mend themselves and recharge.

In fact, I think I might treat myself to a writer holiday next month after I get a few things all shipped off. :-P

Happy Reading and Resting!

Vonna said...

You got me! The photo made me gasp before I finished the first line.

By all means, have a writer's holiday. Enjoy the wonders of this world a while before plunging back into that secret world in your head.

Cynthia Reese said...

I think times like this help to prevent burnout AND divorce! Enjoy!

middle grade ninja said...

I took a one day holiday on Saturday. I do those more frequently. I played xbox, saw some friends, spent some time with my wife, and listened to a Neil Gaiman book on tape:) That's living! And I fully agree. Life IS too short for cheap wine.

Hilary Hyland said...

Good for you! I have a question: What is ironing? And, #6 sounds perfect to me. Enjoy!

Loretta Nyhan said...

Oooh, Linda, someday we'll sit down and have a glass of primo wine together.

I think breaks are a necessary part of the process. Not stopping to do something (anything-even ironing) can lead to writer fatigue, and begins this vicious cycle: feeling burned out leads to frustration, which leads to writer's block, which leads to total paralysis at the keyboard, which leads to you not getting anything done anyway. I say bring on the vino!

Linda Benson said...

Thanks for stopping by to comment! I see a struck a chord with a few people, or wait - maybe that's the sound of a spoon clinking on a wine glass - hear, hear!

Seriously, folks, I'm off to go sit in the sun and meditate . . . or something ;-)

Amy Lukavics said...

Linda,

LOL! When I first saw the picture, I totally thought that you were going to that tropical place and I freaked out. Too bad!

But then I kept reading and realized that all the things you were doing for your vacation sounded so insanely nice. When you and Loretta get together for that wine, gimme a call too. ;)

HAVE FUN!