Bernadette Benda

Writer, Dancer, Artist

It’s Hard to Take a Vacation When You’re a Writer

The problem with being a writer (and there are many) is that even if you are writing full time, it really never is a 9-5. Because even if you quit at 5, sit down on your couch, and turn on your favorite show, there is something looking over your shoulder, a dark cloud looming over you, a beast constantly breathing down the back of your neck.

Your novel.

So yeah, it feel likes the work is never done (because it really isn’t). And because it’s never done, you might feel bad for taking a break. After you finish that first draft, it might feel near impossible to put it away for a few weeks, because you JUST WANT TO GET IT DONE.

That’s me. Sometimes I’ve taken the allotted break, and sometimes I’ve plunged right into editing. But either way, I’m always working on something.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Vacations and taking breaks. Probably because it is SUMMMEEER . (And hot sunny days just make me want to lie down and read a book and take a nap. Though cold cloudy days make me want to do the same…maybe I’m just in a constant state of wanting to lie down. Probably.)

And conflicting with wanting to take a vacation (and wanting to lie down) is wanting to get it done. Wanting to write. Wanting to finish your novel.

So, as I drive off today for a summer road trip, I am not going to hop in the car and immediately start editing my novel. I am going to draw.

Dot-to-dot to be exact.