Writing wish list

There’s been talk this week over on the ACFW email loop about ways we can use our writing and creativity to make gifts for people on our Christmas lists. For today’s Friday Free for All, why don’t we turn the question around? Now let’s think about …

What kind of writing-related gift would you like someone to give you this year? A laptop? Alphasmart? Stock in Mead because of all those little notebooks you carry everywhere? Some people – like my mom – are industrious enough to already be asking for wish-list ideas. What are you going to tell them?

My answer will have to be the same as last year: a weekend away to write. Now I’m not talking about any ordinary weekend when I also pack for my husband and kids. I’m talking about a weekend when I go away by myself to write. The “by myself” part is the key for me – time alone, away from the everyday distractions of laundry, cooking, chauffeuring, phone calls, “real” work, and everything else that fills my days. No matter how well-intentioned my family might be when I set aside time to write, something always comes up that needs Mama’s attention. That would be why so much of my writing happens in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep and I can finally have some uninterrupted time … until my daughter begins sleepwalking. Sigh.

So last Christmas I asked for a weekend away. I didn’t get it until February, but that was OK – I knew it was coming, and I planned for and prayed about it for weeks! I left on Friday after taking our daughter from preschool to my parents’ house. Then I headed to a bed and breakfast about an hour away. I worked on my WIP, wrote copy for a new website I wanted to launch for girls, planned out talks for a half-day women’s retreat I was leading later that month. I spent time on Bible study homework, I prayed, I relaxed, I talked to and listened for God. It was one of the most rewarding and refreshing times I’ve ever had. I returned home Sunday afternoon with a real sense of accomplishment and with joy.

Now it’s your turn. Whether you want to share something realistic or shoot beyond the stars, what would you love to find at Christmas that would help your writing? Dream on, and enjoy this beautiful day God has blessed you with!