How to take a (guilt free) break from writing

Hard work and self-discipline are the keys to success. Apparently. So, where do holidays fit into one's writing-publishing journey?

Can a break be good for one's writing?

A place to write

Where are the best places to write? In On Writing, Stephen King states that above all else "your writing room should be private, a place where you go to dream." But many writers have espoused the very public notion of writing in cafes. JK Rowling famously stated in an interview:

"It’s no secret that the best place to write, in my opinion, is in a café. You don’t have to make your own coffee, you don’t have to feel like you’re in solitary confinement and if you have writers block, you can get up and walk to the next café while giving your batteries time to recharge and brain time to think. The best writing café is crowded enough to where you blend in, but not too crowded that you have to share a table with someone else."

Writing in a cafe - a popular choice for many writers.

 I've wondered about the cafe idea, but I've yet to try it. The idea of an endless supply of earl grey is very tempting. I guess the most important thing for me is that I have peace and quiet - which actually means no one wants to talk to me.

So, this is where I currently write.

My current writing place - in front of the fire.

I sit on the couch. The dog usually curls up on her rug, while the cat nestles in her basket. The fire warms me in winter. I get up every now and then to make another cuppa. And it seems to work. Except when there are people around. Then it never works!

Our house is very small, so when we've got a house full of people it's impossible to hide away somewhere when I need to write. So I have a little dream I'd like to share ...

I want to build my own writing space (or more accurately, coerce my partner, Peter, to build it). We live on a small farm so we've got the room.

Whilst getting ideas (procrastinating) for the perfect writing space, I stumbled across this little gem of a blog that has some great pics of the writing rooms of some very famous authors. I've included some of my favorites here:

Edward Albee works on his next masterpiece.

Edward Albee is one of my favourite playwrights, and he wrote one of my favourite plays, 'The American Dream'. I love his old style writing desk and chair. 

Virginia Woolf had a room of her own.

Virginia Woolf had a writing hut in her garden, which is exactly what I want!

Edna's poetic hideaway.

Poet Edna St Vincent Millay had a writer's hut in the forest - even closer to what I want.

Neil Gaiman's source of inspiration?

Neil Gaiman's woodland writing gazebo is almost a perfect match for my little dream.

I've made a board on pinterest to help me dream up my what I want. I think a blend of the following two might be perfect:

Will my dream become a reality? One day I hope to write all about it in a future post :)

Is too much of a good thing bad for writing?

My new house - I love it but it doesn't seem to be getting me writing!

Over the past few weeks I've been incredibly happy.  After my partner gained a promotion, which meant a move to another town, we bought a house on some land and we've been like a couple of fat pigs up to our ears in chocolatey mud, working on our new property and loving the fact that we are now living in our dream house - a cute little brick cottage.

Of course the move has meant a lot of my time was taken up with finishing my job, packing, moving and unpacking.  But I've been well and truly settled here for the last three weeks - so why no writing and blogging?

I do wonder if my sudden onset of pure glee has dampened my passion for writing.  Not having a job at the moment means I can while away the hours at my leisure.  You'd think I'd be spending every second of it on my writing projects but instead I find myself getting into the garden, or rearranging the furniture for the tenth time.

Does happiness deter the writing process?  My prior life was not misery, but the drudgery of a full time job, and not living ones ideal lifestyle meant that my mind frequently wandered to my stories and day dreams.  My writing projects have always been a wonderful escape from the mundane.  Could it be that a little unhappiness in life helps to drive creativity?  The 'Tortured Artist' stereotype is renowned for a reason.

I love to quote Stephen King, so what does he say about happiness?

"I believe happiness is the exact opposite of sadness, bitterness, and hatred: happiness should remain unexamined as long as possible."

I couldn't agree more.  And over the past week I have got back into my writing and I've loved every minute of it.  I'm not going to examine it further ... but I'd love to hear if anyone else feels they don't write as much when everything is going well in life.

A writing schedule that works.

In previous posts I hinted about a writing schedule that works for me.  So, I thought I'd share it.  It's nothing new or particularly innovative, and the key here is that it works for me.  You should find something that works for you.

When I first decided to become serious about writing, I resolved to write when time permitted.  I'm sure you can guess what happened.  Life took over.  The phone would ring, I'd answer it.  The dishes would need doing.  There would be a show on the tv that sucked me in.  My writing trickled away to something I did on the weekend.

This arbitrary approach was never going to work.  One piece of advice often repeated, is to write often.  It's important for our practise and our momentum that we write on a daily basis.  Stephen King states that if you don't write every day "you'll lose the urgency and immediacy of your story..." (On Writing).

I'm no different to most aspiring authors.  I have a full-time job and family commitments, so how was I supposed to find some quality time to write every day?

Well here's what I did.

I sat down one day and looked at all of my commitments for each day of the week.  I decided upon a goal to write for one hour a day, six days a week.  Then I went through every day and found that hour.  Some days I write as soon as I get out of bed at 6am.  I grab a cup of tea and write through to 7am.  Other days I write in the evenings, before bed.    The weekends prove a little more flexible, and often I write more than the one hour.

Sticking to this schedule has enabled me to complete my first novelette and novel (soon to be released), and I am half-way through a third work.  Some days I write a thousand words.  Other days I barely make 200, but I am writing.

I guess the 'trick' if there is one, is to look at each day and determine the best time to write.  The next thing is to stick to it - ignore the phone and make the dishes wait.

'On Writing' by Stephen King

Ask any author the question, 'how can I improve my writing?' and you are likely to get the following response: 'Write and read ... a lot!'

A Writing Schedule

You may have noticed that I haven't posted for a couple of weeks.  And you may remember I made a commitment to post regularly without fail!  I also made a commitment to write 100 words of my novel every day.  Without fail.  Looks like I've failed.