I love planning. And I hate boredom. Coupled together, my vacations are a whirlwind of fun. So much fun that it’s often nice to return to work for a breather. Just ask my wife. I’ve been so fortunate to have traveled a lot and experienced some amazing vacations already. So today, I wanted to share a moment from one of these with you.

***

It’s annoying that I have to keep checking my depth gage, instead of watching the water, but in the Blue like this, I could be sinking to 1,000 feet, and decompression sickness would seriously damper the honeymoon. But I’m at 60 feet and have plenty of air left. Perfect. I dangle in the perfect Blue spreading out in every direction, dotted by the handful of other divers and dive master. It’s a matter of waiting and luck.

C’mon, Manta Ray. Where are ya?

Lisa, my wife – still can’t get over calling her that – kicks over and takes my hand. Even with the regulator stuck in her mouth, a partial smile touches her lips. Maybe it’s because these Costa Rican waters approach twice the temperature of our typical Monterey spots. Or maybe neither one of us is physically able to stop smiling – symptom of a Honeymoon.  

We wait. And there’s nothing but Blue.

Gotta remember to take shallow breaths, like I’m breathing through a straw. Don’t want to run low on air and force the whole group to end the dive. My swooshing, Darth Vader breaths slow down.

Here manta, manta, manta.  

I spin around to face the other direction. More Blue. I mean if we don’t see one…well, I’m sure we will someday. I wish we didn’t have to go home tomorrow, so we’d have another shot. Though, it’s a life goal to see a wild Giant Manta and I don’t give up on goals. Ever. But still, it’d be soooo cool.

Lisa squeezes my hand and I jolt…she sees one? I look at her, but she gives me our secret ‘Love you’ sign with her hand and then continues scanning.

My tank is about 30% gone. I can’t be disappointed if the mantas don’t show…the boat ride along the jungle coastline was spetacluar…worth the cost by itself. Though –

Ding! Ding! Ding!

What’s that? I can’t search fast enough – it’s so hard to tell where sound is coming from underwater. Lisa squeezes my hand. Hard this time.

Ding! Ding!

It’s the dive master. Why is he banging on his tank like that? Where’s he pointing –

Everything gets dark. The Blue goes Deep Blue – Almost Black. It feels like a Sci-Fi movie when the flying saucer blots out the sun overhead. The dinging stops.

I look up.

A creature soars maybe a dozen feet over my head. White belly. A black line for a mouth. Its wings bat once…twice…

A Giant Manta!

Lisa’s going to break my hand. Who cares? The thing is huge – bigger than I imagined. A wingspan the length of a car. It’s so graceful as it makes a slow turn and flies over us again. The dive master swims under it, letting bubbles from his regulator tickle the manta’s belly like he said he’d do.

I really have to slow down my breathing because if cut this encounter short for the whole group – man, they might drown me. I do and for the next half an hour, the manta swims with us before disappearing into the Blue just as fast as it came.

Lisa and I grin at each other as we ascend. What an amazing experience.

What a perfect end to a perfect trip.

***

Oh, and a quick pic of The New Ballou sporting one awesome onesie!

This week, we've been talking about the Perfect Vacation.

I'm with Katy: the idea of a perfect vacation changes for me, depending on what I feel I need, and how stressed I am.

Most of the time, my ideal vacation involves travel in Europe. It's a blend of beautiful scenery, terrific food, and plenty of learning about art, culture, history. However a couple of months ago, in the dead of winter, while I was in the throes of revising book two, I'd have given you a different recipe for the perfect vacation:

A fresh pedicure, white sand, warm clear blue water, a frosty, cold beer, a great book, my kids and husband surfing nearby.

But now I've had a few weeks to decompress. The days are warming up and I've been finding time, for the most part, to squeeze in a walk under the sun here and there. The draw of solitude and a suntan aren't quite as strong anymore, but I'm not quite ready for Europe, either...

About three weeks ago, I decided that I needed a little breather before I dove into drafting Book Three of the Never Sky Trilogy. Delving into a new story world seemed like a good idea, so I officially started working on the Next Project.

I'm spending just an hour a day on it, because I have plenty of other demands (marketing, writing, interviews, etc.) in addition to winding down the school year with my kids. But during that hour, I'm utterly transported. This work-in-progress has taken me halfway around the world. It's introduced me to knew people (see: characters) who are absolutely delighting me. Every day is an adventure. Every day, I'm learning something new, and enjoying myself. That single hour rejuvenates me for the day. It has me daydreaming in the car, and furiously hunting down research books. It has become my daily vacation, and right now it's perfect.

So that's it for me. Right now, the perfect vacation is right under my fingertips. every morning from 9-10 am.

What about you? What recharges you?

I have a demanding career in real life.  Writing is something I do for fun, in my free time.  So when it comes to vacations, I admit to being torn.  When I get the luxury of time away from the office, I want to set aside time for writing.  But, I also know I need time away from writing, to recharge and fill the creative well.  Like everything, it's a compromise.

Here are ways I've found to relax and enjoy the family, and get in some writing time:

1.  Morning Starbucks Run:  I get up 6:30, like a regular work day.  Then I steal writing time between 7 and 9 when the rest of the family is asleep or getting ready for the day.  I bring back everyone a Starbucks and we're ready to start our day.

2.  Nighttime editing:  After the day's activity, I spend some time in the evenings working on the morning's pages while the rest of the family is unwinding or watching TV.  I don't write at night during the week when I'm working, but it's easier to do while I'm on vacation.

3. Airplane Marathon:  Airplanes are great for uninterrupted writing time.  I plug into my playlist and write, write, write.  I got a netbook with a ten hour battery life which is small enough to open all the way in even the narrowest economy row, and lasts long enough for a cross-country flight with a layover.

4.  Car Ride Plotting:  Dead time in a car is perfect for brainstorming what happens in the novel.  Occasionally I ask my family questions and ask for their input, which leads to fun discussions.

5.  Car Ride Reading:  On long trips with stretches of freeway, with my husband at the wheel, I can often read from my kindle without getting car sick.  Not from a book though, which is strange.  If I'm driving, and my passengers are game, a book on tape is a great way to read while traveling.

6.  Realistic Goals: If I don't have a looming deadline, than I try not to pressure myself.  If I want to sleep in, I sleep in.  If I'd rather go to a movie than write, I go to a movie.  If I only get two pages instead of twenty, I still got two pages.  Keeping an open mind and eradicating guilt is critical to balancing writing and vacation time.

7. Travel Essentials:  I never travel without my laptop, charger, wrist guards and iPad.  If I'm traveling on a plane, I bring my netbook. I used to bring a kindle and charger, but now I use the iPad kindle app to access electronic books.  Having the tools to write ensures that I can write when and if I want too.








 
 

My helpful computer dictionary defines the word vacation as: an extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home or in traveling.

The word that bothers me is "recreation".  What about a vacation where you do nothing at all?  Right now, my life is full.  My kids are off school for the summer holidays, and I'm ferrying them to rock climbing and swimming and canoeing.  Post-book launch, my house is a mess, and I'm still trying to find my kitchen floor beneath the layer of grime.  The refrigerator is slowly starting to look less like a poor college student lives here (expired mayo, anyone?  A three-year-old jar of pickled jalapenos?) and I'm actually cooking meals every night.  Plus struggling to start Book 3, continuing to promote GILT, letting Book 2 compost while my editor works her magic, etc. etc. etc.

If I were to go on vacation this week, I hate to say it, but I wouldn't recreate.  The term recreation conjures images of mountain climbing, wind surfing, boogie boarding, slacklining, backcountry camping... I went to Humboldt State University.  Those are the kinds of things Recreation Majors did.  And yes, they sound wonderful and I'd love to try them all, but this week?  It just sounds exhausting.

The idea of a "perfect" vacation is always morphing, so I'll just tell you what sounds perfect this week.  And because we all have active imaginations, I'm going to create a perfect vacation that may be impossible in the real world, but I'm sure you can envision what I mean.

The perfect vacation happens somewhere beautiful.  The beach.  The mountains.  Beside a river.  Overlooking a vineyard in fall.  There is a place to lie in the sun beside water.  There is quiet.  There is plenty of time to read.  More than enough time to read.

There are no interruptions.

There is history to explore if so desired -- interesting history.  The Tower of London.  Versailles.  Macchu Picchu.  Uluru.  The Smithsonian.  It's easily accessible, doesn't require much (or any) driving and caters good food.

There is no cooking in this vacation.  At least not by me.  And no dishes to wash.

There is a perfect spot to write.  A desk with a gorgeous outlook, plenty of sunlight, with a comfortable chair and cappuccinos delivered (always accompanied by biscotti).  All my research materials are with me, but I do not have to carry them.

Again, there are no interruptions.

My family is happy.  They can go slacklining or boogie boarding or backcountry camping, and they are happy if I decide not to go with them.  But they tell me their adventures over dinner.

And sometimes, if I feel like it, I join them.

This week's theme is the PERFECT VACATION.  While it may seem like a bit of a divergent path from our usual writerly topics, it really isn't.  Last week, I had multiple conversations at BEA with editors, other writer friends, and even my agent, that centered around one major theme -- PRESSURE.  Stress, from external or internal sources, squashes creativity.  Those discussions triggered my thinking about the whole idea of vacations.

Recently, I saw an interesting tweet (sorry I can't remember where the quote came from) that basically said "being a writer means you have homework every single day of your life."  So true.  Unfortunately, I was always the kid who had their homework done on time.  In my little overachiever brain, it would be unimaginable to not turn in an assignment or meet a due date.  Now that mindset translates into guilt and stress when it comes to writing under a deadline.  I'm my own worst enemy.  I put most of the pressure on myself. 

So, if that's true, then does that mean summer vacation NEVER comes to writers?  Say it isn't so.

The view from the breakfast table at Harrington House B&B

In a couple of weeks I have a traditional vacation scheduled--a girls' trip  for a long weekend with my older sister and my niece.  We're going to this wonderful bed and breakfast on Anna Maria Island in Florida (see picture from previous trip).  It has all my required ingredients for the perfect vacation -- sand, ocean, good wine, and great conversation.  The most stressful part of the day will be whether to ride the bike down to the Sandbar Restaurant or to sit out on the beach and watch the sunset.  At least that's what SHOULD be my biggest concern. In order to accomplish this, I'm not only going to have to leave my "real" job behind, but I also need to give myself a break on the writing goals as well.

We tend to think of vacations as a break from the job, but maybe supporting the writing life includes taking a break from writing? Or the WIP? Or a break from deadlines? Or maybe even a break from the internet?  And, by doing so, we actually replenish and nurture our creativity in ways that help us accomplish our writing goals in ways we never could have done if we had kept plodding along under that huge mountain of stress on our backs.

So what would make for your perfect vacation, and what do you need to leave behind?



It's okay to take a break--a breath--in this journey. In fact, by doing so I'm actually going to make my writing, and my life, better.