A Refresher Course on Creative Idea Management

Ah, it’s Wednesday. Know what that means? I’m back. Before I get to the meat and bones of the blog, let me first thank Joann for keeping a light burning and for cleaning up her mess before I got back. Thanks for filling in, girl!


As you probably know by now, I was in Walt Disney World last week on a much-needed vacation. Why much needed? My brain was tapped out, drained dry and exhausted. When I embarked on this quest, this odyssey last November to be an author, I never dreamed I would be at the point I am right now. It’s been a wild ride and I have no intentions of stopping any time soon. The mountain of dreams is high and I've just gotten started. I have a long way to go, but I will get there.

That being said, because I believe in hard work and succeeding as a direct result of that hard work, I hit the proverbial wall. Hard. Enter vacation.

Here’s the funny thing. The night before I left (I’m not kidding you, we had just sat down to dinner) when an email came in that a publisher wanted a revise/resubmit on my latest historical novel. Frak! (All you BSG fans will know what that means) What’s a writer to do? Stress, of course. I intended to sneak in an edit here and there when hubby wasn’t looking while we were away.

Enter fate, that wily trickster who orchestrates my life and twists it to her (or maybe his) advantage.

As luck (or fate) would have it, I only had access to my laptop for two days. After that, my power chord died and my battery drained so I literally couldn’t use the thing. A sleek, black paperweight that mocked me with its ineffectiveness, taunted me with the work I needed to do but couldn’t access.


So I had no choice but to take the vacation. No work. No frantic typing. No internet. Gasp.

And I had a marvelous time. My brain played on the Teacups. My muse thrilled to fly over London on the Peter Pan ride. My creative juices bubbled over as I walked around Epcot. By the end of vacation (and my super awesome hubby ventured into the wilds of Kissimmee in the driving rain to buy a brand new power cord—my souvenir), I came away with a fairly good start for my next paranormal novel and two new ideas for books.

My point? (Hey you know you missed me so simmer down)

My point is that every writer owes it to himself or herself to take time off. If you don’t, fate will find a way to enforce the idleness, shove you up against the wall, hold you by the scruff, and make you have fun. Trust me. We need time to do something other than reading and writing. Get away from the printed word. Do something stupid and crazy and just plain silly. Think of your brain as a mini command center. Every once in awhile, it needs to be closed for maintenance and given a good dusting.

I highly suggest you schedule regular visits into time off.

That’s all I’ve got for now, kids. Until next week, happy writing.