A Writer’s Holiday

 

I’m off on holiday again soon and we’re going back to the place that really got me writing and in fact writing for children.

But can a writer’s holiday be a bit like a busman’s holiday?

I’m pretty well living the dream now.  Okay, so I’m not rich and famous but nor am I necessarily sure I want to be either of those things. However I have a life style that allows me to spend my time writing and I feel justified in that because some of my work is accepted and occasionally admired. Yes, the rejections are hard, but I do remind myself that I’m doing better than Van Gogh; he only sold one painting in his life time.

So do I need a holiday?

I still write or edit and polish pretty well every day on holiday though probably for less time that I would normally. I often find that bigger ideas come to me whilst I’m away. And sometimes new ones.

I do put the marketing and submitting on hold but keep social media ticking over. That makes it feel more like a holiday.

I know some writers who use ‘holiday’ time for research. They go and visit historic houses, take interesting journeys or try to live some of the life that their characters enjoy or endure.

‘What else would I do?’ asks one writing friend.  ‘I can’t just go and lie on a beach.’

Actually it was lying on a beach, people-watching, seeing some freak weather and visiting some magical caves that spurred on my writing.

Pretty soon, when I’ve finished both Schellberg 7 and Peace Child 7 I’ll be taking a trip to a National Trust property. I’m planning a trilogy set in Birmingham in the early 20^th century. It will be based roughly on my maternal grandmother’s life. So I’ll be vising the back-to-backs in Birmingham.  

I’ll also have to find our more about the jewellery quarter.

I’m still keen to follow in Clara’s footsteps: the Schellberg cycle, Clara’s Story. I want to visit Mecklenburg, Berlin, Jena, Stuttgart, Rexingen, Theresienstadt and Treblinka, preferably going all the way by train. Does that count as a holiday? Probably not.  A trip more like? Or even a pilgrimage.  

And I also want to spend a few days in Munich to help with research for Schellberg 7.

What’s a holiday, actually?