begin...begin again: time off

If you go to a "real" job every day, it can be problem when you have to miss work. Maybe you're sick or you've been injured. Perhaps there has been a death in the family. You can't go to work and you're sure you'll never get caught up again. You feel guilty because someone else has to take on your work load. It makes things difficult for everyone. And then there's the missed paycheck. You can't afford to take a day off.

But, if you're a solo writer and you can't write because life has other plans for you, there is no one who can fill in for you. Nobody realizes you're missing so they don't know you're sick or injured or grieving. No one cares if you don't make your word count for the day.

Unless they have an impending deadline to meet, it's easier for writers to take a day off from time to time. You don't have to be on your death bed to justify it. You can blame it on writer's block. Perhaps you need a "mental health" day, aka. time to relax and play.

Or, perhaps like me, you're in the middle of preparing for a DIY wedding in your backyard. Meaning you have to get the place ready. In my case this has involved:

Repaving the driveway

Repairing the pool

Taking out a few trees

Re-fencing the pool

A little landscaping

...not to mention meeting with caterers, scheduling deliveries, fetching various odds and ends, and cleaning the house.

It's things like this that can keep a writer from writing. The good news is that it's all fodder for great storytelling later on. So maybe it's not time off at all!