I've broken my writing routine recently to prepare for a road trip. My husband and I are relocating to Florida for a month to be near my mom and then we're spending two weeks in North Carolina.
I'm gearing up for a 6-week writing sprint while we are out of our usual surroundings. My crazy big goal is to complete a messy first draft of Sequoyah Road (the sequel to Henderson House) by May 15th.
I've been prepping, outlining, researching, etc., but I have not been working on the manuscript every morning. Not writing at my usual time for the past week has created an unexpected outcome; I've started daydreaming. I mean full-on getting so lost in a daydream I lose track of time. I've been late for a lunch date. I stood in the shower until the hot water ran out! I've daydreamed about my current plot and characters as well as placed them in wild future adventures. My mind has also wandered in and around ideas for several completely new novels. I've let myself stare into space more this past last week than I can ever remember in my whole life. And I have to say, it's been exhilarating.
All my time "gathering wool" has generated some startling good material. While I believe a writing routine is critical to success, I have to wonder if taking this break has freed something up in my creative process. Could it be that because I'm not writing, my brain has been fighting to find another avenue to push these ideas out into the world and daydreaming was the path of least resistance? I don't have an answer, but for now, if you see me lost in thought, don't worry...I'm working.
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