I just got back from a great vacation with my family in Virginia. There were so many wonderful things to do that everyday was packed with activities. There were a couple of times, however, when everyone else went out and I stayed back in the room and wrote.
I loved it.
The idea that I could have a number of daylight hours in a row to write at my leisure was as much fun as would be going to a water park. It also helped that my first novel, Kneel & Prey, was already published, so my extended family knew this was a passion of mine and supported me when I left them to their own devices every once and a while.
One of the things successful indy writers tell you to do is identify when you are most productive and use that time to write. Unfortunately for me, my most productive time starts around 10:00 a.m. Since I have a full time job, I am left waiting to write until I get home, after dinner, when I am tired, mentally spent and need a can of cola to jump start my brain.
My mind races during the day with story ideas and plot fixes and I can’t wait to get home, only to fight exhaustion from my daily two-mile walk, a filling dinner and recovering from the mental gymnastics required for my day job.
On vacation I was able to use my prime writing time to do just that, write. My effectiveness and volume of writing was substantially greater than my caffeine fueled night writes.
Beautiful Virginia
Being able to finish the second Gabby Wells Thrillers novel, Lost & Found, while on vacation was as relaxing as hiking or riding horses. Knowing I had time to do what needed to be done was relaxing. Knowing I was done with a novel made my entire two-week respite all that more memorable.
So, if you know a writer and they want to write when you think they should be relaxing, just know its probably not compulsion or rudeness that draws them to the keyboard. Sometimes escaping into their creative world at any hour of the day can be as valuable as a spa day.