Holiday....from what?


Today is technically a holiday. In America, that usually means sleeping in and eating large amounts of deliciously unhealthy food. And above all else, not working. Yes, I have a day job - which gave me today off. So I indulged in a three day weekend with friends, surrounded by snow covered trees on the edge of a frozen lake. We played board games, watched the snow fall and yes, ate a ton of food (I can't begin to tell you how good the lobster mac and cheese was!).
And yet, there I sat on Saturday afternoon, in front of my laptop. Everyone else was off snowboarding, but I stayed back at the house to delve back into my work in progress. Surrounded by breathtaking vistas of snowy woods, I kept my eyes glued to the screen and dutifully typed descriptions of sunny Caribbean skies (my heroine is on a cruise ship, and wearing many fewer layers than I currently am). It was hard, and it most definitely work. And on a holiday, I'm supposed to avoid anything resembling work.
There's the rub. I do regard writing as a job - I take it very seriously, with deadlines and contracts - even though it doesn't provide the health insurance and paid holidays of my day job. But, more to the point, it is also a passion and a joy. So while all my friends happily turned their thoughts to anything but work this weekend, I took time out from the frolicking and fun to turn back to my work. And I don't regret it for a moment. Holidays are for indulging in things you enjoy...so I happily raced my fingers over the keyboard and reveled in...a day of work.

Comments

  1. Good blog and good on you for writing, too!

    I worked this weekend, too, got a few good pages written. I love long weekends for that, but wish I'd get off my duff sometime and go away like you did!

    Ah, well, Presidents' Day is coming up...

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  2. Oh, man, Christi.
    You're not supposed to be jealous of your friends, but I'm sooooo green....that sounds like the perfect time to me.
    Ah, time to just relax and think of nothing but writing would be heaven.

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  3. Oh, I so agree, D'Ann. I would love to get away and be able to write. My dream is to go to the beach for a weekend and just write. Of course, I want an ocean view. Maybe this summer.

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  4. Don't do it, Margie. The beach is HORRIBLE for writing - too many other fun distractions (I go every year). The best way to churn out those pages is to sit down right where you are and just do it!

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  5. My husband used to always ask why I'd work on my fiction during holidays or vacations. Now, he's used to be pulling out the laptop or a notebook and scribbling...as I told him many times (and still sometimes remind him) writing is a vacation for me. Getting into my characters, the setting...it takes me to another place and I love it. :)

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