Too much fun and too much sun.
So today I am officially back to the rat race and while I am rested and recharged I only wish a smidge that the vacation could have lasted for another five days.
I learned early on that I can't take a full week of vacation straight. It is just too much time off in one stretch for me. Doesn't mean I don't feel a little sad when it's over, but I guess that is the point.
It's like when your family comes to visit. I love the anticipation leading up to their arrival. But I am also happy when it's time for them to leave and I can get back to my life. The key is for them to leave before the honeymoon phase is over and I find myself hiding in the pantry swigging vodka and pulling out my hair. (Gram could find my last nerve and than she would stand on it while singing Ethel Merman songs.)
I find that the same thing happens to me when I am in the middle of a work in progress. I start out so strong and am totally in love with my characters and the story line, but as I get closer to tying up all those loose ends and getting to the grand finale, the honeymoon stage invariably starts to wane. I have a harder and harder time finding that happy medium of closure.
Part of this is because I don't want to say good-bye to these fictional friends and the other is because I have been living with the story for so long that I start to second guess how it should go.
That is why outlines are so important to me. If it wasn't for them, I would not be able to find my way to end of the maze. They keep me grounded and on track.
So now vacation is over and I am feeling the overload hangover but I have a great remedy. A sure fire way to get rid of those vacation ending blues. I'm gonna go write. Tell, what do you do?
6 comments:
I know what you mean about house guests. What's that old saying? "Guests are like fish: after three days, they start to stink." ;)
Enjoy getting back into your writing routine after you recover from all that fun. :)
I love and hate coming home from vacay. It's always a little sad, but glad to be home. I usually take a day or 2 after to decompress before visiting the real word.
this theory of maintaining the honeymoon period applies to a lot of things....house guests, manuscripts, friendships, pets, TV shows.
enjoy your return to the writing routine. may it be filled with sunshine, flowers, and unicorns.
Ugh on the return from vacation. Don't you hate that? Back when I held a normal day-job, hubby & I were lucky enough to be able to take a lot of month-long overseas journeys, and those were a bear to recover from. Jet lag on top of all the inevitable "Idontwanna" returns to work.
I'm trying to get back into the WIP after a few days away for a visit from my parents & a quick trip to the beach. Obviously I'm not succeeding, since I'm here reading instead of writing :)
Tawna
Yeah, the vacation ended but I am glad to be back to work. I love what I do and I am lucky for that.
I did some writing while I was off, but I really did just take some time to be on vacation. But I am glad to be back.
PS I should not try to reply to these as I am watching Bones reruns because David Boreanaz is too hot!
Funny, I used to have no problem taking a whole week off. Of course, irony is, I don't "work" anymore, but there is also no such thing as vacation when you are a mom. In fact, they are a whole lotta work! Exhausting!
I know what you mean about writing. The honeymoon phase does wane. But I find if I take a more extended break from my WIP, I come back eager to be with it again, and that renewed energy helps.
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