I tried to take a day off from writing this weekend. I needed a chance to retreat from all the things bedeviling me in other areas of life. I mean, one day off wasn't too much to ask, was it? I'd definitely earned it with all the word count I'd put in this week, not to mention plotting and analyzing and multiple blog posts.
It was a great plan. It just didn't work.
I was relaxing in the bathtub, thinking how brilliant it was to escape from all the mental activities. However, my brain kept tapping me, saying, "You know, if your heroine heard this, she would realize that. And she needs to know that, in order to grow before the HEA."
I kinda waved my hand, sloshing water everywhere as I answered, "Yeah, yeah, contact me later. I'm not working today."
But maybe water works on ideas for the WIP like it does on those movie gremlins – you don't want to get them wet, because then they multiply. Pretty soon I was mentally editing this scene, and adding a line or two to that scene, then right after that an idea for a blog post appeared and. . .
There went my planned day off.
Not that I'm complaining. It just made me realize how integral writing is to my life.
Writing doesn't go away. It may disappear for a while, but it always comes back stronger, kind of like the tide going out and then returning as a tsunami. There are other days when the urge to write is like a sneeze that keeps building up but never actually turns into a sneeze, as if the words are stuck inside.
How can you have the urge to write and not be able to write?
I don't have any profound advice for you today, except to say if writing is in your blood, you will find a way around all the obstacles, especially the ones YOU erect, consciously or unconsciously.
If it really matters, you'll write, whether the conditions are just perfect the way you like, or whether you have to ask the restaurant hostess for a box of crayons when an idea hits.
The words will come forth, and in their own perverse way, they're likely to choose the moment when you're drifting off to sleep after an exhausting day, or when you're stuck in a grocery line without a scrap of paper (until you get your receipt).
It's a sort of madness, writing is. If you're a writer, though, you learn to embrace it, and you welcome all the crazy, wacky insanity it creates.
Do you take planned days off from writing? How do you handle it? Are you always ready to write when the ideas hit?
A couple of announcements:
Fellow pirate Maureen O. Betita is celebrating the release of her very first book, The Kraken's Mirror, at the Romance Writer's Revenge today. Stop by and join the festivities! You can also read the interview I did with her here.
There's a special guest this Thursday, February 3rd. Make sure you stop by when Jack from Robyn Carr's Virgin River series of books will be here telling us what it's like to be the bartender in a small town. He may have a few secrets to spill, and one lucky commenter will win a copy of Wild Man River.
I don't take planned days off...other than if I leave the house without my computer... I like to always leave room to write, but I find if I don't really push it...days off occurr.
Not necessarily a good thing!
And thanks for the shout out!
Posted by: Maureen | February 01, 2011 at 12:39 AM
Maureen, I don't take "planned" days off either, and I'm thinking maybe I should--so I don't have those "accidental" ones that leave me feeling slightly guilty for not taking advantage of the writing time. LOL
We do need to refill the creative well, and it's not as easy if guilt is blocking it!
Congrats again on your book getting published. It's downloaded and waiting for me--as soon as I get some writing done today!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | February 01, 2011 at 08:12 AM
I've taken more than days off, I've taken weeks off. LOL! Though usually because my brain was too fried from dealing with something else. I seem to have hit a groove now.
I finished revising my first MS Sunday afternoon and took Monday night off to relax. All I could think about was wanting to write something. Good thing I had a blog to put up today.
I considered taking the week off, but changed my mind and hope to have at least two stories ready for Woman's World before I dive into plotting over the weekend.
To be fair, I have a day job which makes the writing feel more like fun than work. I'm guessing that makes a difference.
Posted by: Terri Osburn | February 01, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Terri, I think it can take a while to find the right groove for ourselves, and it's awesome when you do find it. You've definitely hit yours!
I think we don't really take time off from writing--at least not mentally. Even when I couldn't get words onto paper I was always thinking about a story, even while working the day job. It sounds like you're in the same situation, so fired up about writing, you just can't stop!
Congrats again on finishing your revisions. I've read the first few pages and am tickled with Emma and Nate. I had to take a break to get in some words of my own, but now I'm going back. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | February 01, 2011 at 01:15 PM
You're right, of course. I'm always thinking about writing, plotting, publishing, blogging, reading. It's like breathing at this point, almost involuntary.
Happy to hear you're liking the book. These characters feel like my friends after spending so much time writing their story. It's going to be hard to let them go!
Posted by: Terri Osburn | February 01, 2011 at 01:43 PM
It is involuntary--part of your DNA. That's how you really know you're a writer. Even when you say you're taking a break, or quitting, or whatever, you're not. LOL
It's hard to let go of characters. I definitely know that feeling. But then all of a sudden, other ones sneak in and you love them even more than the ones you left behind. It's amazing how it works. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | February 01, 2011 at 02:28 PM