A Writer Going Home

Celebrating my savior's birth notwithstanding, at this point I feel loaded down with the holiday season's commercialism and busyness.

Don't misunderstand. Christmas was great, but how do I come down from it, so I can get back to writing?

Sugar plum fairies still dance in my head uninvited.

Really, you too? So then, what do we do now? How do we focus on writing?

Personally, I need some distance.

I'm not going to stop writing, although that might be a part of it for a few days. What I mean by gaining distance is that I'll be looking for inspiration in a different direction.

It just so happens that I head to Oklahoma to visit some family this week, so I have a perfect opportunity to pick up the pieces of my brain, put them in a suitcase, and spend time in a different environment.

I'm looking forward to this not only to escape the after holiday shock, but to refresh myself for a new year of writing. At home, I'm going to let a different setting pour over me. New place, new people, a change in conversation; sounds an awful lot like new setting, new characters, and new dialog don't you think?

What are some other ways we writers can gain distance and clear our minds at this time of year? Maybe a brisk, cool walk at the community gardens? A two hour coffee chat with a literary pal? A list of writing goals for the new year?

There are so many different ways we can reconnect our writing thoughts, clear our minds, and get back to work. We can Go Home in different ways.

Personally, while I'm home I'm going to walk in the woods with my dad, breathe in the clean country air, and visit some old friends and family.

When I come back, my writer's head may or may not be clear, but I'm certain the sugar plum fairies will have flown away. Except for one.

I'll let her stay, just to chase away the writing scrooge.

Tina Ann Forkner writes contemporary women’s fiction and has recently contracted with Waterbrook Press, a division of Random House, to publish two novels. The title of her first book is Ruby Among Us (Jan. 2008, Waterbrook Press, a Div. of Random House). Visit her at http://www.tinaannforkner.blogspot.com/, a blog based on a First Time Novelist's Journey.