I try to get out from under the laptop occasionally to do things that have nothing to do with books, words, or getting money in exchange for books or words. Try it sometime, seriously.
Anyway, the following suggestions may be helpful in your writing process or your general pursuit of happiness.
1. Go see these guys at your earliest convenience. They spread joy wherever they go like brilliant, tub-bass-playing, dirty-minded bees.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/qp2bdSxZGDA?rel=0-A&w=320&h=240]
2. Lost your smart phone? Borrow a friend’s phone, and text your own phone asking the finder of your phone to please call or text the number of your friend’s phone. It shows up on the lock screen. Most people genuinely do not want your lost items and would prefer to see you reunited with them.
Writing process? Totally getting to that.
3. Step outside of your own field. Having a community of writers is invaluable; in fact, I’d have to say it was one of the highlights of my graduate writing program, and I’ve made efforts ever since to keep in contact with such a community. However, and I’ve said it before, you need to get out and talk to people who view books as entertainment commodities at best and don’t give a rat’s ass about semi-colon abuse, plot structure, character development, or synecdoche. Your daily page count? They don’t care about that, and neither should you, ultimately. This is a transitory success.
4. There are people out there making gin from wild-harvested roots and berries, and if you don’t see a connection between that and writing it is possible that you are in the wrong field (or don’t drink enough, which amounts to the same thing). Whether it’s hillbilly moonshine or gourmet spirits, make something out of the abundance available to you.
5. Excellent advice I heard from a musician: when learning something new, be prepared to suck for awhile. Beginning musicians require a room of their own for entirely different reasons than writers do, but the impetus to study a new instrument or take on a new writing project is the same. Relax and let the process develop at a natural pace, like small-batch, handcrafted mountain gin.
Enjoy your summer break in whatever form it takes. Don’t have one scheduled? You might want to revisit your priorities.