Summer of Nothing

ACK! It’s summer! That means that on top o all the other things we’ve got going on in our lives, we can now add: Kids who are out of school, extra work covering co-workers vacations, managing, organizing and packing for our own vacations, gardens that need tending, and extra family obligations and celebrations. Trying to find a couple of hours to write, let alone attend a critique group meeting becomes as impossible as herding a kindle of kittens through a field of catnip.

So, what’s a writer to do?

The answer is….NOTHING. Yes, that’s right, I said do nothing. In my exalted position as New England Critique Group Coordinator, I am giving you permission to stop stressing about NOT writing. Stop making excuses. Stop promising to write tomorrow. Just stop. Breathe. In. Out. You remember breathing, right? Relax. It’s summer, stop and enjoy it. REALLY enjoy it. Notice it. Feel it. Revel in the whole little-kid-grass-between-your-toes-sprinkler-jumping-watermelon-slurping jubilation of it.

Then, next week or next month, but more than likely, a LOT sooner than you would have thought, you’ll find yourself scrawling a quick plot note on a clam shack napkin or ducking into the restroom to scribble a description of the tattooed Goth who stood next to you in line at Santa’s Land. And not only will the joy of writing come back to you, but you’ll be a better, stronger, juicier writer for having stopped and refilled your creative well.