Finding Your Inspiration: Take a Break.

This weekend the family and I went to Jenolan Caves.  It was a combination of a birthday celebration and a bit of a break from working on NaNO.  Trouble was, I brought my laptop.

I’m sure you know where I’m coming from.  You go away for a few days with every intention of having a break from meeting a deadline, yet somehow, it keeps nagging at the back of your mind.  You end up not knowing what to do – do you write or do you ignore it, hoping that the much needed break will do you good?  I had every intention of getting some writing in, but at the end of the day, physical exhaustion won over that idea.

We managed to fit in four caves in over three days – I lost count on how many stairs we had to climb, but my feet and calf muscles are certainly feeling it.  I also lost count on how many photos I took.  I’m sure I must have annoyed the guide in the first cave we went into, so I learnt to ease off a bit after that!

Listening to the talk given by one the the guides certainly didn’t help at one point.  When discussing the history of the caves, he went on to talk about the early women explorers at the caves.  One family of women in particular had no objection to putting on the trousers.  That’s when I got my lighbulb moment.  Being a bit of a history buff, I pricked up my ears.  Now that could be something to look into, I thought.  Now, of-course, as any writer would know, there is no such thing as a holiday in this job!

Even while we were staying in the cabin, enjoying the scenery, the surrounding bushland, and how quiet it was, I was thinking of what a nice writer’s retreat it would make.  I’m not really into such things as writing retreats; all I know is a change of scene can do wonders, which is exactly what happened.  We were doing so much, I did not have time to think of the novel I was working on for NaNO, let alone any form of writing.  It was the perfect opportunity to clear my head, so that I would be ready to get back into it when I returned home.

Pushing myself to meet a deadline is important, but so is taking time out to spend time with family.  ‘All work and no play’, as the saying goes.  So now that I’m recharged, it’s full steam ahead!

Images of Jenolan Caves by Debbie Johansson.