Time-Out for Writers
Writing is a funny business. What is work? What is day dreaming? What is wasting time? What counts and what doesn’t count?
Many of you reading this who are in the creative field will know exactly where I’m coming from. When your hubby or a friend asks, “So, what did you do today?” and you answer (maybe just a touch defensively…), “Well, I worked,” sometimes it’s not really the kind of work they’re thinking of.
I watched a Fassbinder movie, so shoot me! I mean, well, um, for me that’s actually work. I went to a bookstore and checked out books about teens. Again, real work. So, I watched TV, work! HARD WORK!
I’m only half kidding here. Inspiration comes from the strangest places and at the strangest times.
While I was away with the kids in Germany, I was all theirs. I didn’t take my laptop, I didn’t answer (or even check) e-mail and I took no business calls. “Work” was on hold. I listened to them, spent every waking hour with them, had fun with them and also hung out doing nothing.
But that stretch of ten days was incredibly rewarding for me in terms of work. I had ideas for three new books, which I am so excited about. I carried around a little notebook with me in which I jotted everything down. I planned a new workshop I want to run in the fall, a non-fiction book project I’m going to start, and I figured out my next novel! I even started day-dreaming about a writing book I’m going to work on once I get famous. Dream big, I say…
So taking a little time to relax actually proved to be very fruitful professionally. And my kids got a happy mom to boot. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
July 19th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Even when my vacation is hectic (I have little kids) I find being away from home helps clear my mind so I can prioritize better. I don’t work in the creative field, but I do benefit from having greater “mind share” to plan future work projects. Sometimes I even talk with my five-year-old about work and he gives me a funny perspective on simple problems I’m having!
July 19th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Whenever your mind gets some freedom from the interminable list of to-dos, the distraction of the phone, the endless laundry and so on, it is able to explore and be creative again. After my vacations, I am more productive by far because I’ve had a real chance to catch up mentally.