Index
« Keep on shovelling | Main | Oh the places you'll go »
Thursday
Nov152012

Time out

 Word count: 242  Reading time: 1 min.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jill a dull girl. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Jack Torrance, that creepy character in The Shining, was onto something with this thinking. He wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Sir John Lubbock said, “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.”

Today I topped 34,500 words in my NaNoWriMo novel and I felt just a little depleted. So I did the obvious: I took a break. The sun was shining, bald eagles were congregating by Harrison River (this weekend is Eagle Fest), and the open road beckoned. While I may not have added to my word count during the long drive and brisk walks around different parks, I came home with a notebook full of scribbled thoughts. Tomorrow morning I will open the novel, refreshed and playful. If there was a better way to spend this fine autumn day, I can’t think what it might have been.

What have you done to revitalize your writing recently? Do you take a break? Go to a play or maybe just watch a good movie?

 ***

Noon: Rest From Work by Vincent Van Gogh

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (3)

Can't wait to read it!

November 15, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAlyssa

I really look forward to this new story you're conjuring up. I've taken too long a break and it is time to pull out my keyboard again. Thanks for the inspiration!

November 22, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAllison Doke

Thanks for the votes of confidence! This one is going to need a rest and a revisit in a month or two after I insert the final period. After that it may be suitable for human consumption.

Maggie

November 22, 2012 | Registered CommenterMaggie Bolitho
Comments for this entry have been disabled. Additional comments may not be added to this entry at this time.