Working on Vacation

And a midnight margarita spell

Right before we left, the book was going well. With a new direction and new energy. I wrote two fresh chapters and most of a book proposal.

Then came a week of long-planned family vacation. I swam, kayaked, fished on a boat, discovered I make excellent mixed drinks, which is a kind of magic that spoils you for restaurants.

I thought I would keep my momentum on the new project going. But I didn’t, really. I wrote a few nights by the pool. I tried to edit on the plane.

Do you work on vacation? I tend to. Historically, if my family is around, it’s been an opportunity when I actually have time: people to watch my kid. But he’s at the age now where he prefers to be in his room for long stretches, so the childcare issue is not as desperate. Sometimes I think that pressure was a weird gift. I was paying—dearly—for time, so I had to use it.

I think there is something to be said for having a pattern, a routine. Many artists have habits, but rituals can be a trap if you must create at a certain time or in a particular place or way. Art isn’t a habit. It’s calling. And it comes at different times. You can’t always plan for them or expect them.

I’ve learned you can’t force it. I used to write in the mornings, but then I started a demanding day job. I used to write every day, but then I became a single mom. I used to write at least 1,000 words, but then I got Long COVID. Life loves to stand in your way. At the same time, life paves the way.

You never know whether an event is going to block you or give you something to write about. Sometimes you won’t know for years.

Intention to write sometimes looks like intention to sit, intention to walk or swim, intention to think. And you can’t think without rest sometimes.

So, I lost my momentum a bit while I was resting, but I didn’t lose the thread or the desire to tell my story. Now, the challenge is to pick up the thread again, to sift through the dried palm fonds on the ground, and lift the red thread up and start spinning.

Photo by Wil Stewart on Unsplash

A Spell (for Midnight Margaritas)

Run a lime wedge over the rims of your glasses and dip the rims in a dish of kosher salt. Blend 1 Cup Tequila, 1/2 Cup Triple Sec, 1 Cup Frozen Limeade, and about 6 Cups of Ice in a blender. This makes a pitcherful of slushy frozen margaritas, to be enjoyed at any time.

News

Advanced reader copies of my next novel DUST are starting to pop up on social media, thanks to reviewers and bookstagrammers. Be sure to preorder your copy now wherever you buy books, so that it arrives by (or sometimes even a little in advance of) its publication date!