Monday, June 01, 2009

The Writing Week (Vol. 2) part 74 - Recharging My Batteries


Well, I'm back on the proverbial road again. Six months ago I was deep into one of the most southern points of Africa. Now, I'm in Europe, staring at what is the too rapidly approaching end of my vacation. New York City can't quite draw me back yet, but I'm having a hard time denying that I can hear it calling.

I love to travel just as much as I love to write. And I think the two go hand in hand. Even if I don't write scripts that take place in Africa or Ecuador or Europe (at least not yet), going to those places helps me shape my view of the world. It helps me become a more well-rounded writer. And, maybe most importantly, it helps me recharge my batteries.

We all have different ways of getting back onto the writing horse that we've recently fallen off of. Some of us play video games, watch movies, and generally let our minds go blank for a few weeks. Some of us get heavily into jogging. Others drink. Heavily. I travel. Whatever you have found that helps you, do it, especially if you're feeling burnout.

I tend to write really quickly for about a month, and then take a month or two off while trying to regain focus and dive into a new project. As you might have gathered from my earlier Writing Weeks, rewrites and minor edits are my baby steps back to full blown writing. But every now and then, I need something really big to stir things up, a change of scenery in which I can go guilt free about not writing. And, as absence makes the heart grow fonder, by the time I'm back to my usual stomping grounds, I want to write. Need to write.

New York City, I'll be back soon. Computer, I hope you're ready. Vacation, for now, I'm all yours.