Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Summer, How I Love Thee

Today I sat outside, enjoying a BBQ in the sunshine. I love summer. There's nothing better than lazy days in my garden or fresh tomatoes from the greenhouse.

I also love summer because I'm out of school. That translates to more writing time. The rest of the year I'm typically exhausted and in the long, dark days of winter I really just want to hibernate and eat cookies. I have to force myself to write and keep my daily writing goals low: 250-500 words a day. I envy those of you who NaNoWriMo. I just don't have it in me that time of year.

But summer means I can stay up until midnight and it's still light out (I'm in Alaska). I don't get tired until it gets dark and have oodles of extra time to think about plots and research the nitty-gritty stuff I need to weave into my WIP. Suffice to say, I can get a lot done.

So I'm curious. Is this just a weird Alaska phenomenon? Or perhaps it's a teacher thing? You tell me: do you feel more productive in the summer? Or is there another time of year you get more writing done?

6 comments:

L. T. Host said...

I totally feel more productive in the summer! I completely hibernate in the winter, too. I curl up in a freezing cocoon on my couch and don't move again til the outside temps get over 80, haha.

Can't be just an Alaska thing because I'm in So Cal, so there's that.

Cheers to more motivation and time to write!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I'm the parent you send the kids home to in the summer, so NOPE definitely not more productive in the summer. But summer is living time, where I refresh, reconnect with the kiddos, and just breathe. And agitate because I'm not writing as much. :)

Unknown said...

I love the unpredictability of summer. But yes, I tend to get a lot of writing done . . . though not always the writing I had planned to get done. I tend to get more easily detracted with new projects . . .

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm a teacher too - so yup the productivity goes WAY up in the summer. The month of June is pretty much a total write-off for me, so by the time holidays come around in July, everything's bursting to come out!

WritingNut said...

Yes, yes and yes! I always feel much more productive in the summer. As the days become colder, I find I become less and less enthusiastic.

I also love writing on warm rainy days - something about them brings out my creativity.

Gary Corby said...

Totally the other way round. We have a long summer holiday during which the kids don't go to school. That's family time. Autumn and winter are peak productivity. (In theory right now...except I'm reading blogs instead of writing...)