I awoke at 8 this morning. 
Me, the dedicated early riser. The one who generally springs (okay, it is more like a shuffle) out of bed at 6 AM and starts writing.
But this week, after two weddings in the family and a summer's worth of social events, organizing a writing weekend for the program I direct, dealing with ongoing clients, and rewriting my novel, I am beat. I am so beat that this is the second blog post I've written about it.
Two days later, however, I have repaired to LA, and now I'm no longer considering myself tired. I have entered a new phase. I am now floating. And floating is different than being tired. Floating is giving into the tiredness instead of resisting. It is about allowing. It is about admitting you're tired and instead of pushing past it, going with it. Floating is, well, floating.
Floating, for me at this particular moment, means a visit to wine country to do nothing more strenous than tasting wine. Taking the afternoon off to go see Eat, Pray, Love. Sleeping late. Not getting out of my pajamas until nearly noon. Doing just enough work to get by. Reading. It is about intentionally finding activities that will replenish me, body and soul.
Floating is good for every single part of me, from the physical, to the mental, to the emotional and spiritual. And I'm loving every damn minute of it. Because I know myself well and I know I can't float for long. Soon, very soon, I'll be bored with it. And then I'll be rarin' to go again. And when I am rarin' to go, I'll have the energy to do everything I want to do because I've allowed myself to replenish.
And here's the really great thing–my brain will start forming new ideas for writing and writing projects. I'm already really excited about visiting a new place tomorrow and thinking about how I need to take extensive notes because I might want to use Paso Robles for a location sometime. The writing brain needs to take a break once in awhile because, as we all well know, the writing brain is pretty much always, always on. It observes, ponders, notes ideas, descriptions and dialogue. I am truly grateful for my writing brain and I know it needs a rest once in awhile.
Which is why I'm happily floating.
How do you float? What do you do to replenish your writing brain?
Charlotte Dixon
Thanks, J.D., not only am I extremely proud of my kids I like both of them a lot, which is saying a lot. I know you write a lot and it is important to find a way to replenish yourself. You’ve probably been writing a lot lot because isn’t Thriller Nashville coming up soon? Good luck with it!
J.D.
Congratulations. Your comments make me think your kids are doing well. That is a real blessing! Back on topic, I don’t know that I have a way to replenish my writing brain. Being around other writers fires me up. I’m not sure that is the same as replenishing. I need to find a way to stir my creativity.