Deadlines are looming. So I did what any sensible writer would do. I recruited a friend, packed up my computer, and headed up north. It takes a fellow writer to appreciate the joys of spending a beautiful Muskoka weekend indoors, hunched over a dimly lit table, typing away while the sun shines on the lake.
Lest you admire our discipline, let me remind you that the mosquitos this time of year are the size of Mac trucks. They zoom around in curtain-y swarms. Whenever one passed by the window, it blotted out the sunlight.
We got lots done. My friend managed to come unstuck on her project, and I finished a draft of one novel and got most of the way through a draft of another.
It’s still going to take a lot of work to meet my deadlines this month. And I’ve used up my “weekend away” card already, so I think I’m going to have to do this the old-fashioned way: standing at my desk, typing, with the door closed. Imagining a giant, bloodthirsty mosquito waiting to pounce on me if my hand touches the doorknob.
What works for you?
I admit to being the crazy friend who accompanied Erin on her mosquito hunt/writing weekend. Yes, some discipline was required to ignore the gorgeous water view and warm sun AND THE MOSQUITOS, but Erin had deadlines. I went along to help her find motivation with little expectation of getting much done myself. One comment about pirates from Erin and I was off and running–well, sailing, really–through some swashbuckling scenes and tickling my writer’s funny bone in new and strange ways. Just another reminder of how important it is to have great writing friends.