Being a writer means that some part of the brain is always at work. Stories take shape in the unconscious mind, storehouse of memories and ideas and sensations and emotions and patterns and insights. This means it takes more effort to actually take time off and recharge that brain consciously so that the unconscious always has lots of raw material to work with.
So what does a writer do on a weekend? Probably, writes. Writing is just not a 9-5, M-F kind of gig. I even get business emails on weekends I have to respond to. And I honestly can’t remember the last time I went through a major holiday or long weekend without edits or something to proofread or something I had to just stay with, even if it was only to write 100 words, so the story would stay fresh in my head.
But writing and proofing and researching and revising can’t be done 24/7, either, so when the writing is put away, it’s time to go get immersed in sounds and sights and sensations, emotions, experiences. Hang out with friends and family. Cook a meal. Go to a museum and look at art. Study the lines of sculpture. Wander a fabric shop and touch the different textures; feel the difference between denim, linen, fleece, velvet. Look at the range of colors; not just blue but indigo and turquoise and sky blue and navy.
Wander through a store and really look at clothing. Have all your characters started to sound generic in their dress? Examine something different. Try to find an outfit your character would need for a given scene.
Go to an art store. Look at all the different paints and charcoals, all the pastels, all the papers. Buy some to play with.
Get your camera out and shoot whatever catches your eye. Take a close-up, then a wide angle view. Write about the difference in what you can see from just changing perspective in the same scene, a little five minute exercise.
Read. It doesn’t matter if it’s history or poetry or science or astronomy or astrology or a mystery or science fiction or fantasy or a book written for middle grade children. Read. Watch a movie and see how visual information is conveyed. Listen to the way music creates mood and heightens drama.
Take a nap. Sit under a tree. Look up at clouds in the sky. Sit in a chair and do absolutely nothing but breathe. Listen to music. Really look at a blade of grass, a leaf, a flower.
All of these details and images go into the unconscious to be drawn on the next time we describe a setting, bring a scene to life in words. How a writer spends a weekend determines how the writing goes when official work time rolls around again. It’s easy to say that writing consists of butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard, but the raw material of fiction requires getting out of that chair and touching something else to gather in.
Charlene Teglia is the author of multiple romances for multiple publishers. Her most recent title, Claimed by the Wolf (St. Martin’s, Dec. 09) is in stores now.
Related posts:
Comment
Hey Charli–Sometimes it feels like I do more writing away from my computer than not. My husband will catch me staring at something or daydreaming in the oddest places and he’ll say, “You’re writing right now, aren’t you?”
Great post. I’m reminded of doing “artist dates” from The Artist’s Way. It’s all about refilling that creative well.
Comment
Hi Becky! Yes, the artist date concept really has to become a way of life. We’re continually exhausting that storehouse of raw material. And sadly, writing does go on no matter what you’re doing. It’s so valuable to find that person who can live with your thousand mile stare while you’re caught up in story pieces in your head.
Comment
Amen!!! That reminds me … I really need to get out and do some photography!!!
Comment
Amie, I bought a pro Flickr account last year and found that having an easy way to share digital photos made me a lot more likely to get the camera out and get creative. Have fun capturing some images!
Comment
Wow, Charli… Great article. Over the years, I have found that a writer’s work never truly ceases. Another writer friend of mine said she once asked her husband, “Honey? What do you think about when you stop at a red light?” And, naturally, all-American boy said, “Huh? Um… when’s this light gonna turn green?”
Yeah.
But it’s so true! Constantly, I have scenes going through my head — dialogue, faces, scenery, costumes. I listen in on conversations without even realizing I’m doing it. A song on the radio I’ve heard a million times over will, all of a sudden, spark some sort of fire in my muse and an instant scene (or part of a scene) pops in my head. It’s all the time.
I suppose at some point we simply have to embrace our insanity instead of wondering if normal people actually do this. But then again, if we didn’t write, they’d lock us up… right?
Comment
Thanks, Alyssia . I think you do have to accept yourself and learn to live with your writerly needs, and make sure you get them met. Time to feed the process is part of that. And yes, a creative person who is blocked, frustrated or otherwise not producing? That leads to all kinds of ugly.
My husband’s favorite saying is, “Shouldn’t you be writing a book?” when it starts to build up. 
Comment
Charlene, thanks for reminding me to experience my writing rather than relying on my memory bank.
Great blog!
Comment
Glad you found it helpful, Henya.