Purpose: To share and encourage.
Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing
foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer
assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all
kinds!
Vacations. So what's to be insecure about vacations? Vacations are for relaxing! Except...when you're a writer, there's that voice that tells you that a writer writes. All the time. Every day. How can you go on vacation?
My real vacation hasn't even started and already I've done almost no writing work in over a week, because of end-of-the-school year stuff, and a bit of holiday-making, and two spare teens staying with us for another week (and we've been having a blast, but one of them is sleeping in the den with my computer, and right now the whole herd is watching a movie on my computer while I write this post on an ancient laptop...). Is it any wonder I get a little worried when I think about writing and my REAL summer vacation plans?
I'm at a stressful time with my latest book anyway: I've sent it to my beta-readers, so there's not much I can do until feed-back starts to flow in. But I fret, and I struggle to pick up the next project (heck, I struggle to think what the next project should be!). I have too many unfinished projects right now, which worries me, so starting a new book seems like maybe a bad idea. And yet: working on a first draft is doable while traveling. Editing is not.
So the mind goes around in circles, always wondering if it's okay to take time off, and how much, and can I do something productive with that time (and what's so unproductive about travel, anyway?).
Basically, leave it to a writer to turn vacationing into another reason to freak out about work!
And there's the answer, I suspect: vacation is a time to take a break from working. If writing is a job, then yes, even a writer needs a holiday. I probably take more and longer holidays than I ought, but that's part of why I'm not a cubicle monkey. I like to travel, and I like to backpack, and writing gives me the time off to do it. So I will stop fretting and enjoy my vacations.
Oh, yeah. And maybe work on some short stories to market somewhere...
How about you? Do you worry about taking time off, and feel like you should be writing *literally* every day?
I'm in the "write every day" camp myself. But, when I'm vacationing, I do cut myself some slack on what counts as writing. Maybe just journaling or fewer word than usual will suffice. I'm afraid to break my chain of days written though. Just superstitious enough, I guess.
ReplyDelete@mirymom1 from
Balancing Act
I think there's a little superstition in all of us :) If it's working, don't stop!
DeleteI do journal when on vacation, and that's usually as much as I have time for.
I wish I could write every day, but sometimes (ahem, usually) it doesn't work out like that. If you feel you have to write something but don't want to commit to anything to big (or can't edit an exist manuscript) why not work on a short story or something else smaller? I usually like to do that when I'm between bigger projects.
ReplyDeleteIWSG Post June
Yeah, short stories are what I'm thinking about. That would be good, as I've also resolved this year to start submitting stories for publication.
DeleteI wouldn't mind using my vacation to write, but my family doesn't agree with that attitude. Too bad...
ReplyDeleteWe mostly travel, hike, and backpack (usually all at once), so I don't have a lot of time for writing when on "vacation." But last summer on our backpack trips my eldest son wrote a chapter a day in his book, and read it to us each night before bed. Of course, he wasn't doing the cooking :)
DeleteThere are two types of vacation: the one where you get away in order to write, and the one where you get away in order to rest. Sounds like you need a rest to allow those projects to simmer undisturbed before they can come out.
ReplyDeleteOur family vacations tend to be rather on the strenuous side. I've never taken a vacation just for writing; my best writing times are when everyone else is busy with school and work, and I have to get up early to send them off, then have the place to myself.
DeleteI think vacations are healthy, as long as you're traveling with the right people. When I'm on vacation, even if I'm not writing, I'm still taking in the sights, sounds, smells, etc... of what's around me. Sometimes I jot down these details because I never know when I might use the setting in a story.
ReplyDeleteI travel with my family, and our vacations are definitely healthy! I admit that if I had to give up writing or backpacking, I would, with regret, give up writing. Happily, I can work the two in around each other, and enjoy them both.
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