Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Kicked out of paradiseI have just returned from 8 wonderful days of relaxation and luxury on a resort in Mexico. My husband and I were celebrating both our ten year anniversary and also the last time we'll be able to take a vacation without a little one in tow. (Although I'm very much looking forward to having a little one in tow, truthfully).
Now I've returned and am trying to get myself back into the swing of the Dreaded Day Job and my writing life. Yesterday I did a lot of staring at my computer screen here at work and twitching. I'm also dropping things and running into walls and doors, but that's not very unusual for me. Today I feel better, but I'm a tad grouchy. My co-workers need to watch themselves or I may beat them with my Swingline.
I guess I'm suffering from the later stages of Paradise Withdrawal.
I brought my Alphasmart to Mexico with me, envisioning long, lazy (yet productive) days on the beach, typing madly away on my WIP. That didn't *quite* happen. Actually, when we first arrived at the resort, I was very inspired by my surroundings. It was so beautiful and lush, the perfect setting for a story. I recorded all the sensory description I could. How a cold bead of liquid falling from a cup feels as it hits warm skin. How the surf feels crashing against your legs. Stuff like that. It's all in my notebook, waiting to be used.
I thought maybe I'd be writing my very first non-paranormal contemporary. Normally, I don't like anything that's not paranormal. Not to offend anyone, (we all have different tastes), but I find them pretty boring most of the time. Despite that, this story began to take shape in my imagination. The characters began to form themselves. Never mind that I'm already halfway finished with a paranormal menage a trois novel right now. The muse wants what she wants and she wants it now, the bitch.
And then, because I'm all corrupted now, restraints and floggers started to show up. Suddenly, it was no longer just a contemporary romance, it was a BDSM romance.
So, I plotted the book while on the beach one day and started the book the next day. Then, somehow, lethargy set in and all I could was lay around and order cocktails. The Alphasmart lay forgetten in my room.
I did work a bit on the as-of-yet nameless story on the plane trip home, but I caught the guy in the seat next to me reading it. Just throw a bucket of cold water on the muse, why don't you? That would be just as effective. Alphie went back in his carrier.
But I did get another story out of my vacation and that's pretty cool. Apparently there's inspiration in paradise.
