Why is vacation so hard?!
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Something amazing happened this week Reader, I took a week’s vacation from work. A full week off. I’m not gonna lie, the first four days were hard because I love my work—I write content for businesses (website copy, blog articles, on-brand materials, business proposals, e-books, you name it!) But by day five, after removing all social apps from my phone and turning off Slack notifications, I finally relaxed into true “time off.” I was so determined to take a true break that I even stopped opening my laptop. That’s when it happened. I picked up a pen and notebook and filled it up in three days. I know there are prolific writers out there who fill pages daily, but that hasn’t been me in years. Since having a baby, sitting down with pen and paper became challenging. I adapted to using my phone and Google Docs at every opportunity: supervising bath time, in between feedings, while on the bus with baby-in-stroller, basically anywhere I could write, I’d type on my phone. And that worked for me for a long time. For years, I thought I’d never go back to pen and paper. Typing was the only way for me. But now that my kid is a bit older and my job involves typing daily, I find my inspiration dwindles after staring at a screen for a certain many hours. Another block I had was a story I was telling myself. I believed that my pen couldn’t keep up with my thoughts, and typing could. Having picked up the pen again, I noticed that writing long hand was actually slowing my thoughts in a good way. I’m savouring the story more now. And I make fewer spelling errors (imagine that!), though it’s hard to tell because my handwriting is fairly hard to read. The point is, I picked up pen and paper this week and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it. I also completed draft one of a brand new short story that I cannot wait to share with you at the end of April/early May! What is your craft Reader? Are you a writer, knitter, baker, gardener, or carpenter? What tricks do you use to produce your best works? Until next week, Natalie Guttormsson PS - Free Stories Searching for your next favourite story? Look no further! These bestselling authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of new books. Available for a limited time. >> Free Fantasy & Science Fiction Stories PPS - Want to support my writing and research endeavours? You can find the e-book versions of my short stories on my website & Gumroad store, where I've introduced a new option that lets you choose what you pay for them! Never heard of Gumroad? It’s a trusted platform for indie authors to sell e-books on while the wonderful people over at Book Funnel securely deliver the e-book to your device. You can learn more about my process here. |