Day fifteen: the holidays take over

So today was all about getting ready for camping. I’ve only been numbering days when I’ve actually done some work on this blog so I guess today shouldn’t really have a number. The wife went to put the tent up at lunchtime and then came back to get me and the boy after school – his last day of the summer term. So it was a busy and an emotional kind of day. And now I’m effectively (and reluctantly) shutting down for most of the summer holidays. I’m writing this at a month’s distance and I should add this: I didn’t mean to. I was deluded enough to think I would still find time to write / work while I was away. But that was never going to happen. Fifteen days in and what have I learnt so far:

1. The universe (whatever that means) is trying to teach me about the nature of distractions. Most writers – definitely including me – deal with them on a daily basis.
2. Writing requires planning. Space, time, goals, and structural planning. Anyone who tells you otherwise is deluded (i.e. see number one). I can’t do structural planning without focus – I find it really hard. Structural planning is what I need to do most right now.
3. Be kind to yourself. In a ‘you need to relax / recover / destress / heal’ kind of way, but because if I’m kind and friendly in my planning systems I’m more likely to understand what I’ve written a few weeks later.