How About A Thanksgiving Writing Retreat?

by Kimberly A. Cook       (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Here comes turkey day and then the slippery slope to holiday festivities. In amongst all the carting, preparing, eating and clean-up, perhaps we can all steal some time to write. At some point we may try to lock ourselves in the coat closet anyway, given too much people time, but just in case make a back-up plan to steal some sacred writing time away from the chaos of the season.

To get us started in the right direction, read these Thoughts on Writing from Elizabeth Gilbert at http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/thoughts-on-writing/  Yes, we know I am a huge fan of hers, but with good reason. She seems so sane. And funny!

An article about her in the Nov/Dec 2013 “Poets & Writers” magazine said she didn’t write for three years while she researched her newly released fiction book. Three years! Fabulous. Here I was worried about sticking my non-fiction book in a box for a couple of months. (http://www.pw.org/content/novemberdecember_2013)

Every one of us has to find our own writer’s path. It’s like cleaning the cat’s litter box – we have to do it because the cat sure isn’t about to scoop poop, he’s got staff. Writers are our own staff and everything else – logistics! (And no, UPS will not write our books. Deliver them? Yes.)

With the changes I am making with knitting, combining my craft and writing spaces, plus focusing on what makes me happy and ignoring the rest, my muse is waking up from slumber. The creative power is eeking back into my veins and I might actually be a tad more pleasant to be around these days, Frustrated creatives are cranky people to be sure, I know this because my family has told me so.

So whether you are participating in the holidays at a DefCon 5 level or ignoring them completely, both are allowed, give yourself the gift of writing time. Plus pumpkin pie of course!

P.S. Turkey Bonus: For the three of you on the planet who don’t know about www.blackfriday.com, you can do shopping recon of the after turkey day ads right now. Happy Thanksgiving!