Visions of a Dark Horizon

I know a lot of writers have their writing ‘habits’ – writing in a certain room, or writing with certain music on, or in silence, or only writing in the morning – you get the picture.  I’ve never had much of that; when I have something I want to write, I usually sit there with my laptop and I write.  It doesn’t matter if I’m in my study, or in my living room, or outside on the deck.  My family could be watching TV in the same room, it wouldn’t matter (though I might put on headphones, depending on the show).  I just get my hands on the keys and words come out.  There is one exception to all this, however…  Summer.  Summer weather is my kryptonite.  When it’s sunny outside and the breeze is blowing and the birds are singing, sitting indoors and tapping away on my laptop is the LAST thing I want to do.

I am sure most people feel the same way, obviously, but I do still have to write.  I’m currently working with four different editors on various projects, plus I’m working on a new story for an anthology I’m really interested in submitting to, so ‘I just don’t feel like it today’ doesn’t work that well, no matter how nice the weather is.   

Writing at night is also harder in the summer, especially now in the height of summer when it might not get dark until almost 9pm, with the sky splashing watercolor shades over the skyline and the tree frogs beginning their evening serenade. Rainy days help – there’s really nothing like working on a horror story while there’s a storm raging outside – but even then I often prefer watching the rain whip against the windows. 

Of course another big problem for me that’s probably not as much of an issue for most writers is that I’m also a performer, and during the early summer, at least, my dance card is full.  I’ve got shows and performances every other day most weeks.  This week I’m booked on Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and I’ve got two gigs on Saturday, and next week we’re traveling to Vermont to perform there, so I’ve got to balance writing and editing with that schedule as well.  Performances should taper off a bit in August but for now, the show must go on.  

So what’s a writer to do?  Great question.  I guess part of my answer is ‘write less and enjoy the nice weather, because winter will be here before you know it’, and that’s good advice, it really is.  My writing output is definitely less in the summer, but I still squeeze in writing, especially if there’s an opportunity I’m really interested in that seems like a good fit for my style.  If I’m really inspired (Or have a deadline) I’ll write when it’s just too hot and the AC in my study is nice and cool, or at night when the family is just hanging out watching ‘Ghost Adventures’, or whatever. The key thing for me is to get focused on what I’m writing, to get lost in the story to the point where everything else gets blocked out. If I can get there, I can usually get through whatever I need to write before the allure of summer breezes pulls me back outdoors. 

Usually…