When I booked this weekend’s trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake with my BFF and fellow writer Rebecca Jamison a couple of months ago, I thought it would be a chance to edit what I had written so far in a quiet, relaxed setting.
Turns out I need it to be a fast-paced, focused 72 hours of serious writing. I’m not as far along as I’d like to be, and this weekend is now all about catching up. How I feel about the book come Monday afternoon will determine what the rest of my summer is like.
So here’s what I’m packing:
- The laptop, of course, with all the book files from my desktop on it, with the files also backed up on a flash drive, just in case.
- My wireless keyboard and mouse, because typing for three solid days on my laptop keyboard will kill my wrists.
- My wrist brace and ibuprofen, just in case it still starts to hurt.
- Blank note pads and pens for back-in-the-office to-do lists and sketching out sections that are bothering me (more like mind-mapping than outlining – see last post!)
- A bunch of research I’ve printed out and need to sort through. I can’t write the whole time, but still need to be working on the book. Will also be good for the plane.
- Running shoes, so I can take long walks. I’ve found that’s the best way to uncover new insights and see things more clearly.
- iPod, for the same reason. Even if I can’t walk, if I can lie flat and listen to my favorite music, my brain resets.
- Sleeping pills. Just in case I can’t sleep in a strange place. I can’t write well when I’m tired.
- My favorite teas. Making cups is a ritual, even if I don’t end up drinking them all.
And what I’m not packing:
- Any other work. This is all about the book, and nothing else.
- Any fun reading. This is not about relaxing, other than hanging out with Rebecca.
I would love to say that I’m leaving the Blackberry behind too, but I just can’t go there! My saving grace is that the condo doesn’t have good Internet access, which means I won’t be distracted by the million different websites I usually visit when at my desk. (Need to check out the Leech Block Firefox plugin recently recommended by my friend Nedra Weinreich to deal with that problem when I get back – except I’m mostly using Chrome these days.) I’ll check email, Twitter, and Facebook on the Blackberry, but that’s it.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
First off excellent site. Im unsure if it has been addressed, however when using Firefox I can never get the whole blog to load without refreshing many times. Maybe just my connection. Appreciate your work
I haven’t forgotten my Writing Project Summer Institute days. I never wrote so well or so intensely in such a short period of time. But now I am planning to continue working on my fictional autobiography that I began years ago.