Should You Write While on Vacation?

Writing is about making choices. Thousands and thousands of choices.

Is your protagonist going to be blonde or brunette?

Is her husband going to live through the third act or die a gruesome death at the hands of your maniacal antagonist?

Of course, as a writer, you don’t just have to make story decisions. If you’re going to write and publish a book successfully, you also have to make serious life decisions on a regular basis.

Are you going to draft another chapter this evening, or watch sitcoms on the couch with a bowl of popcorn resting in your lap? 

Are you going to do one more round of revisions before engaging beta readers, or are you ready to send that puppy out into the world?

None of these decisions are simple, but they have to be made.

It’s the same when it comes to whether or not you should be writing while on vacation.

As a writing coach, when my clients are preparing for a big vacation or a visit home to family over the holidays, I urge them to make a decision prior to leaving.

I encourage my clients to choose between two options:

1. Put writing on hold and focus on having fun while on vacation, or
2. Make a conscious decision to dedicate a portion of their vacation time to writing.

One of these options is not necessarily better than the other.

For some writers, the most important thing will be keeping the regular writing habit going and making progress on their project no matter what; whereas other writers benefit from the fresh perspective afforded by time away from their book.

Both options can work. Unfortunately, many writers fail to choose either option.

Instead, they make the fatal error of going into their vacation with a vague sense they, “may get some writing done, time permitting.”

This inevitably leads to no actual writing getting completed, but a persistent lingering sense at all times that one should be writing. In failing to make a choice, this compromised approach steals from the fun and focus of a vacation while at the same time failing to contribute any real progress to the writing project.

It produces the worst of both worlds: stalled progress on your writing and limited relaxation while on your vacation.

Learning to be an author involves learning how to make decisions with confidence. That includes choosing one of the two options presented above before throwing your suitcase in the back of a cab headed to the airport.

If you have made the choice to put the book on hold and enjoy your vacation, then actually put the book on hold. Make the conscious decision not to write while at the beach or waiting for the turkey to pop out of Aunt Lisa’s oven. Enjoy yourself!

If you are going to work, you’ll need to slot that work into your vacation schedule the same way you schedule it into life back home. Be vocal about your decision and let your family and friends know you intend to spend specific blocks of time each day working on your writing.

The point is to be mindful while on vacation. Don’t leave home with the goal of relaxing only to spend the whole time feeling guilty about not writing. Focus on your vacation time when it’s time to be on vacation. Focus on your writing when it’s time to do your writing.

Your character can’t be both blonde and brunette at the same time, and you can’t be relaxing with family and writing a book at the exact same moment.

Make the decision to work or to relax, and then stick to it.