tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post7891064341325192092..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: "I can still work!"Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-13387717447170245622018-06-21T22:37:42.826-04:002018-06-21T22:37:42.826-04:00So.... Writing is work?So.... Writing is <i>work</i>?Michael Seesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03694187657718931214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-23828799358022414432018-06-21T09:36:12.528-04:002018-06-21T09:36:12.528-04:00I had a job where I was an editorial assistant at ...I had a job where I was an editorial assistant at a vendor who serviced educational publishers. I worked 50-60-hour weeks. We had a small staff, so I had to wear a lot of hats, and I constantly felt overworked. So when I said to my boss that I'd check email and whatnot over my vacation, he shook his head and said, "Don't. Just take those two weeks. If you don't take a break, you'll just be burned out when you come back." I heeded that one time, but the truth is, when you're writing or creating any kind of art, it is HARD to turn off. <br /><br />Also... a Rickroll! I do enjoy a good Rickroll--never gets old for me.Stacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03365582623380288038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-48192179993100736512018-06-21T08:53:24.337-04:002018-06-21T08:53:24.337-04:00I have trouble taking time out. There is always so...I have trouble taking time out. There is always so much to be done. Every so often I remind myself I really should take time to stop but after so many years of just not the guilt factor weighs heavy.AJ Blythehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529233142099749005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-87154922529055791202018-06-20T23:42:34.364-04:002018-06-20T23:42:34.364-04:00Joseph,
The first rule of training an animal is t...Joseph,<br /><br />The first rule of training an animal is to stop on a high note. Their brains are like sponges. They'll soak up so much and then they reach the saturation level. To make the learning experience enjoyable, they have to end a session when they've accomplished something, not when they've failed so they look forward to the next session. <br /><br />So, if a dog, for instance, is starting to mess up on a command, you go back to the last thing they did well and repeat that then you quit and let them relax. <br /><br />So it goes with people. Will got a degree in computer science that is normally a four-year program in two years. He was working during the first year. He had to quit the second year. It was just too stressful and it wasn't leaving him any time for his boys. He's still glad he did it, but holy crow it was tough sledding for a while. <br /><br />People need down time. <br /><br />Hemingway always quit thinking about writing after he quit for the day. He put his mind on something else. He read. He relaxed. He let his brain mellow out.Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-17203758864883008292018-06-20T22:19:44.599-04:002018-06-20T22:19:44.599-04:00Such important advice that is so very difficult to...Such important advice that is so very difficult to follow!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01007221258737361122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-62713760987487128072018-06-20T21:55:50.754-04:002018-06-20T21:55:50.754-04:00Writing IS my time away! Writing and art. Creati...Writing IS my time away! Writing and art. Creating gives such a mental high and those things are so different from my day job, they the perfect way to escape. <br /><br />But, I know what you mean here. Family, friends, 2 legged or 4, you just gotta make sure you (sometimes) come up for air and actually interact with them. Otherwise, how will you get more good character fodder? --I mean, because it's important. <br /><br /><b>The Noise in Space</b> - yes. I completely agree with that study. Time is the most important currency. I'm always shocked when others don't have that same thought process. <br /><br /><br /><br />Lennon Farishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03570629350169504234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-67552011602733471212018-06-20T19:05:39.613-04:002018-06-20T19:05:39.613-04:00Husband Jim and I haven't been on vacation in ...Husband Jim and I haven't been on vacation in well over 15 years. I'm not complaining. I tend to be a homebody and, bonus, we live in the middle of a couple hundred acres with a herd of horses that has numbered in the seventies (the numbers are lower these days). Another bonus, the Savannah River is a stones throw away. I find a respite from the work of tending that aforementioned herd when I spend time in the woods on our own property or go to the mighty river across the road.<br /><br />I've taken quite a bit of time off from writing. But finally feel ready to embrace the joy of creating again. Melanie Sue Bowleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11820711791019410116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-29485284823250186772018-06-20T18:49:15.802-04:002018-06-20T18:49:15.802-04:00True, the Duchess must eat.
Ok then, here’s hopin...True, the Duchess must eat. <br />Ok then, here’s hoping that you get a rest anyway. May someone else’s ms put you to sleep :) Brendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08941043145591116608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69456335574411648232018-06-20T17:10:29.838-04:002018-06-20T17:10:29.838-04:00(Oh, and "douchecanoe" might just be my ...(Oh, and "douchecanoe" might just be my new favorite word)Timothy Lowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07514224628760035696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-18177812044590335892018-06-20T17:06:26.895-04:002018-06-20T17:06:26.895-04:00I must confess I lugged the laptop on a recent fam...I must confess I lugged the laptop on a recent family vacation and dutifully plunked away for an hour or two a day. Thankfully I have a forgiving family and they didn't heave me off the cruise ship. A lot of times, I have a problem "wasting" a day where nothing gets "done." This little reminder finds me shamefaced.<br /><br />Best to all of you on upcoming vacations. I hope they recharge your word-banks! (And I hope Janet finds a shiny new client in her pile of prospectives!)<br /><br />Timothy Lowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07514224628760035696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-22663846043143072172018-06-20T16:52:39.061-04:002018-06-20T16:52:39.061-04:00Brendalynn Please never EVER think of yourself as ...<b>Brendalynn</b> Please never EVER think of yourself as being a burden to me. Incoming queries and requested fulls are the lifeblood that keep me employed, and Her Grace the Duchess of Yowl in fish fingers.<br /><br />That I am behind on reading is my own damn fault, no one else's.<br /><br />I'm taking the focused week cause, at this point, I'm mortified by how long I've asked writers like you to wait.<br /><br />This is NOT on you.<br />Janet Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-48414373071915028922018-06-20T16:41:36.384-04:002018-06-20T16:41:36.384-04:00
I had a student - he looked a little “off” - di...<br />I had a student - he looked a little “off” - didn’t socialize much with his classmates - another student told me his classmates considered him the one most likely to firebomb the school. He didn’t recite well when I called on him. Once I called on him and he stood there for an interminable time. When I got antsy I called on another student. The first fellow spoke. He said he had no idea how to answer my question, but he had been called on by another professor earlier that day and stood there without answering, and he didn’t want to go without speaking again. (Sadly, I don’t remember how I handled it).<br /><br />He performed poorly on my final exam.<br /><br />He came to talk to me. I the course of our talk, he revealed he had finished undergraduate studies in three years by going straight through, taking courses every summer. I finished his last class in July and began law school the next month. He continued going straight through in law school. I told him pretty much what Janet Reid has told her clients, and told him to take the summer off from classes to give his brain a chance to recharge. He said he couldn’t find a summer law related job. His family lived near the Gulf of Mexico. I told him, if nothing else, walk along the beach and pick up sea shells or bottle caps or something. <br /><br />He took off the summer and when he returned for the fall semester, he looked much more relaxed, and actually smiled. <br />Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07437663031050410028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-8841545815778440502018-06-20T15:39:07.642-04:002018-06-20T15:39:07.642-04:00Also, confession, I looked up one of the reference...Also, confession, I looked up one of the references. <br /><br />So, now I can tell you I recognize both references!John Davis Frainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020019400599228492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-63692295349664590202018-06-20T15:37:01.522-04:002018-06-20T15:37:01.522-04:00I'll take your recommendation, and lower it.
...I'll take your recommendation, and lower it.<br /><br />You don't have to wait for a vacation to unplug. Yesterday, I had a couple 5-miunute errands to do. Instead of driving, I walked and it took about 90 minutes. No ear buds. No deadline. No worries.<br /><br />When I got back to my office, I got more done that I had in the five prior days combined. (Slight writer's embellishment here, but c'mon, I'm making a point.)<br /><br />So, don't wait for a vacation to take a little time off. It'll do you good any day, including days you think you don't have the time. The time is there--you just need to use it wisely.<br />John Davis Frainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020019400599228492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4227330836741384732018-06-20T13:26:14.894-04:002018-06-20T13:26:14.894-04:00Thanks for this. I am going on vacation next week ...Thanks for this. I am going on vacation next week and was considering taking my novel to work on, since I am behind where I want to be on edits. You're right, the time is better spent exploring a new place.Danae McBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320690272694387175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-79311876939656967622018-06-20T12:59:00.554-04:002018-06-20T12:59:00.554-04:00Great post and thanx for sharing.
I would say mor...Great post and thanx for sharing.<br /><br />I would say more, but my brain is in rest mode. Preparing for JR withdrawal in ten days. It's going to be seven days of white knuckling it.<br /><br />I hope I don't run out of Moon Mountain Vodka before the hiatus is done.<br />Steve Stubbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13421775912951050610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-84184814258867615982018-06-20T12:01:58.741-04:002018-06-20T12:01:58.741-04:00My life is a vacation, which brings its own set of...My life is a vacation, which brings its own set of writer issues. When you have all day-every day to write it’s too easy to put it off. <br />I am a workaholic, perfectionist, type A personality in progress, just coming off a ten year stint in an all consuming job that I loved. As Cynthia said, “Nobody does me when I’m not there.” Until I wasn’t. And then they did. <br />Janet, I feel guilty as heck for being one of the writers who are burdening you this July. I do hope you get a real vacation soon. <br />Brendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08941043145591116608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-8108441347488674962018-06-20T11:52:39.546-04:002018-06-20T11:52:39.546-04:00This is why I am section hiking the Pacific Crest ...This is why I am section hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Two hundred miles at a time, ten days of no internet (mostly) and no emails. Highly recommend it. I work with people who have no work life balance. I get texts from them on weekends and at 6 am. Those kinds of people are no fun.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11166776565191771729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-50396346723186974652018-06-20T11:52:22.256-04:002018-06-20T11:52:22.256-04:00For a busy writer's mind vacation is like Cala...For a busy writer's mind vacation is like Calamine for poison ivy, once the itch is gone you can't wait to go back to the woods.Carolynnwith2Nshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394998702410764388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-56667982882924069412018-06-20T10:59:58.608-04:002018-06-20T10:59:58.608-04:00I recently watched a documentary about how much pe...I recently watched a documentary about how much people work and have vacation in different countries.<br /><br />It's probably not a secret that, currently (and generally), Germany's economy is one of the best in the world.<br />Then this fact: Germany is also one of the countries with the MOST holidays per year.<br /><br />Are you German, Janet ;)!?<br /><br />As for a vacation that makes you switch off your WiFi:<br />I recently crossed the Atlantic by ship. WiFi is so expensive and sooo slow there, you won't use it much if at all ;).One Of Us Has To Gohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00286506993128699826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-82637409465587590832018-06-20T10:51:30.197-04:002018-06-20T10:51:30.197-04:00The object of a vacation is to be a psychological ...The object of a vacation is to be a psychological cathartic. How that works is different for each and every person. Some of us have jobs that are a vacation while others sit in cubical hell and need to physically escape.<br /><br />I am one of the previous. Therefore I do more work on vacations than others. I volunteer to help others as a vacation. Hard, physical work purges me of more nasties than a repetitive loop of Rick Ghastly ever could.<br /><br />I also can not walk away from the shape the world is in at the moment. I am afraid the world might end while I am looking the other way. You can only pile up so much smoke and mirrors before it becomes a fire hazard.<br /><br />One size of vacation does not fit all.Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-16796544617959530942018-06-20T10:10:28.000-04:002018-06-20T10:10:28.000-04:00So much yes! I used to always take work with me. N...So much yes! I used to always take work with me. Now I have to take a laptop and cell phone (being the biggest expert on something is bnoth job security and leash), but other than checking email and chat 2-3 times a day, I only work if I really need to. And I define "need" very narrowly in this case.<br />Writing? I do it if it leaps out at me and demands it. And I *love* writing.<br />Hmmm. My mind is on vacation a lot. But still. roadkills-r-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029861300358380117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-41044988646816053152018-06-20T09:48:07.995-04:002018-06-20T09:48:07.995-04:00The now-famous Yale class on how to be happy touch...The now-famous Yale class on how to be happy touched on that very thing. If you have time, please do give this write-up a read--it's one of the most fascinating things I've read in a long time.<br /><a href="https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/how-to-be-happy.html" rel="nofollow"> Article from The Cut </a><br /><br />One of the most fascinating takeaways for the article, for me at least, was the concept that there are two major commodities associated with happiness: money and time. From an economic standpoint, since a person could theoretically make infinite money, money is extremely elastic. Since every person has the same number of hours in a day, time is extremely inelastic. Therefore time <i>should</i> be more highly valued than money. However, in our society, people with an excess of money are considered successful, while people with an excess of time are considered lazy. This is backwards, as numerous studies have proven that time is much more closely linked to happiness than money. <br /><br />Incidentally, there is one way in which money can buy happiness: by buying time from someone else (a maid, a cook, someone to mow the lawn, etc.)The Noise In Spacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13433798159445551782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64579915147008674542018-06-20T09:47:58.598-04:002018-06-20T09:47:58.598-04:00What PAH said, for sure.What PAH said, for sure.unavoidablytigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03873885714218763028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-17325613499238811422018-06-20T09:21:35.679-04:002018-06-20T09:21:35.679-04:00My goal in life is to take brief breaks from my va...My goal in life is to take brief breaks from my vacation for work...PAHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150112855344551488noreply@blogger.com