By C. LaRene Hall
I’ve been looking at a list I have of things you should never do as a writer, but I have a new one to put at the top of my list. The number one thing that you as a writer should never do is take a vacation.
My vacation this time lasted almost two weeks, and I purposely left my computer at home. Now that I’m back, I’ve decided that it was a huge mistake leaving it. I do have many tiny little notes that I scribbled on small pieces of paper. Some of them make sense, but most of them have no meaning and are untidy, illegible doodles. The memorable moments are still in my head, but I lost more than I saved. I even took my tape player that sat in my bag unused. I was really on vacation.
A writer should always be prepared and should always write all those precious thoughts onto more than small scrapes of paper. You should always write clear notes, and not scribble. I’m not happy that I failed to keep track of thoughts swimming in my head. I know that once it goes away it will never return.
Other times when I’ve gone away on vacation, I’ve kept good records and at least wrote on my AlphaSmart. This time although it was with me, I only recorded the pictures I took. I can use the excuse that I was too busy and having too much fun, but it won’t help bring back all the lost thoughts. At least I learned from this experience.
3 comments:
That goes for the "break" type of vacation--you know the kind where you "take a vacation" from writing? Don't do that either. It's not worth getting rusty. >=[
I take breaks from writing, both on vacation and just ignoring my writing for a while. It actually helps me out. If I think I have to write every single day, I feel so much pressure I start disliking my book. If I know it's okay to blow it off once in a while, I keep liking my opportunities to write. Right now, my schedule is to write four days a week. I've kept up that schedule for three months now, while my resolutions to write every day typically fizzle out after about a week.
Thanks for the comments. I think you are both right. As long as you have a schedule stick to it. The important thing is to set a goal and keep writing.
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