Results of the Second At-Home Writing Retreat of 2020

Welcome, Monday! Here is a quick recap of my second at-home writing retreat of 2020.

I had three projects on the table: finish a workable draft of the even chapters of The Phoenix, do some initial editing on Ed Calkins' Ruthless, and wrap up a non-fiction project.

It was an ambitious list, and I was only partially successful.

I do have a workable draft of The Phoenix, although one section of a chapter didn't save, so I have to rewrite it, grumble. That was a bit of demoralizing find when I was scrolling through chapters late on Saturday night.

I got carried away with Ruthless, which pulled me away from the non-fiction project. But I did give an initial edit to thirteen chapters.

However, I cut the writing retreat a bit short and worked all day Sunday, so Monday wouldn't be crazy, having been out of the swing of things all week.

At the same time, I ought to gain a little time in the evenings this week for the neglected project.

Am I happy to be back at work? Absolutely, and I mean that sincerely.

True, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to spend some lingering time working on fiction.

However, since many of those projects are dark in tone, that tone is not where I like to keep my mind most of the time. And all of the projects, the dark ones and light, fun reads, really stretch my creativity. It's good to let mental muscles relax.

The work at The Herald-News is positive, community-focused, and interesting.

Nevertheless, I''ll be just as happy this weekend to spend some time sinking deeply into a chapter or two of The Phoenix and tackling some line editing. Because allowing creativity to reign for a day or two rests the mental muscles I exercise for my features writing.

See? It's all about balance. 

And coffee.

And reading good books.

And plenty of rest - which I had last night.

And great people in your life to serve and love.

I hope whatever project or work you're tackling today, may it bring you great joy and satisfaction.