Happy Friday!
Last weekend marked the unofficial start of summer, and many people are planning vacations or simply taking time to slow down. During our team meeting this week, after discussing the usual business, I found myself wondering and asked the team, “Can writers truly take a break from writing?” The answers were mixed. Perhaps for writers, a vacation isn’t an escape from creativity; it’s simply a change of scenery. Beth explores that question in this week’s blog.
Can Writers Ever Truly Take a Vacation?
Summer is in full swing around the country, and especially here in my little town. People from all over the South, as well as Indiana and Ohio, come to enjoy Dale Hollow Lake and its many marinas, resorts, and quiet coves. Everywhere you look, there are boats, campers, families, and people searching for a little escape from everyday life.
At our team meeting this week, I mentioned to Marilyn and the others that I would be taking a much-needed vacation next week. Marilyn immediately asked a question that stayed with me the rest of the day:
“Do writers ever truly take a vacation?”
A Brief History of Vacations
The act of “taking a vacation” has been around for centuries. Wealthy Romans escaped to seaside villas, medieval travelers took long pilgrimages, and young European aristocrats once embarked on the famous Grand Tour, a rite of passage for wealthy young men. After the Civil War, the Adirondacks were a popular destination, and by the 1920s, railroads and Henry Ford’s 5-day workweek paved the way for regular travel.
And the reason for taking vacations hasn’t changed much. I asked my very logical, computer-programmer husband what the purpose of one is, and his answer was, well, logical: “It’s a break so you can rest and relax.” Fair enough. Other comments I’ve heard or said myself include: “I just need to get away for a while” and “I want to see something new.”
What the Science Says
Relaxation and the chance to see something new are great reasons to get away for a time, but science shows that vacations are genuinely good for creativity. New places, new sounds, new food, and even a break in routine can help the brain form and reorganize neural connections. Researchers suggest that novelty increases “cognitive flexibility,” the mind’s ability to shift between ideas and see things from new perspectives. Time spent in nature has even been linked to dramatic increases in creativity and problem-solving.
That gives me new insight into why getting away helps when I’m “stuck in a rut,” whether in writing or in other parts of life. Sometimes the brain doesn’t need to work harder. Sometimes it simply needs fresh scenery, new experiences, and room to breathe.
Writers Need Breaks Too
There’s no question that breaks are necessary. No matter how much you love your work, even if it’s your passion, you still need rest. We all need moments to step away from responsibilities, stress, deadlines, laundry piles, email notifications, and all the other little noises constantly competing for our attention.
I know I do.
But creative brains don’t really stop working. I think vacations become something more complex than simply rest or exploring.
Vacation: A Bonus Trip into Story
For writers, the slightest break in routine can open the door for inspiration to sneak back in when it feels like that door has been nailed shut for weeks. Writers process life differently. We observe constantly. We imagine constantly. Most writers I know carry journals full of ideas, photographs, snippets of dialogue, or strange little observations that might someday become stories.
Writers don’t just see places. We immerse ourselves in the destination.
A passing conversation at a marina restaurant becomes character dialogue. An abandoned farmhouse along a country road quietly turns into the setting for a future novel. A stranger’s expression in a grocery store line suddenly becomes a writing prompt we can’t stop thinking about.
And imagination isn’t just useful for writing stories. It’s how we problem solve, innovate, dream, and make sense of the world around us.
So while a vacation may be an escape from responsibility, for writers, it often becomes an escape within an escape.
Writers often carry entire invisible worlds in their minds, and vacations don’t silence those worlds. If anything, they wake them up.
The moment I visit someplace new, my imagination comes alive. If I walk down an old cobblestone street, I immediately begin daydreaming about the people who once lived and worked there. I imagine the past unfolding around me. Before long, I’m researching the area’s history and mentally casting characters into scenes that don’t even exist yet.
Despite my love of history, though, the “escape” isn’t always about the past.
Sometimes I imagine an entirely different future version of myself living in that new place. A quieter life. A different rhythm. A fresh identity where no one knows me and anything feels possible.
Maybe that’s part of why travel feels so restorative. For a little while, we step outside the routines we’ve built around ourselves. We remember there are still unexplored parts of the world and, sometimes surprisingly, unexplored parts of ourselves too.
Even though I may physically leave home for a week, the writing mind keeps wandering creatively and emotionally.
And honestly, I think that’s a good thing.
Vacations recharge us. They refill physical and emotional tanks that have been running on empty for too long. Curiosity returns. The senses wake back up. And when I come home, I almost always feel creatively renewed, even if I never wrote a single page while I was away.
So no, I don’t think writers ever truly take a vacation from writing.
The stories, observations, ideas, emotions, and inspiration become even more present when we step outside our ordinary lives. Trying to completely shut that off would almost feel like refusing nourishment to part of who we are.
That doesn’t mean I’ll be sitting with my laptop trying to force out 500 words a day next week.
But I will absolutely have my journal nearby.
And my camera ready.
Just in case inspiration decides to come along for the trip.
And Speaking of Vacation…
Next week, we’re taking our own advice and going on vacation, so there won’t be a newsletter. Don’t worry! We’ll return refreshed and with a few stories inspired by our travels. Until then, be sure to sign up for our July 15 webinar. I can’t wait to see you there!
Here’s to your personal success,
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
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Positive thinking has become a significant issue. It’s like having the good fairy police hovering over your shoulder. The moment you have a dark or doubtful thought, there’s a sudden clamor of clichés: “What you fear appears.” “Thoughts become things.” “Man is what he thinks about all day long.” “People are just about as happy as they think they are.” [read the full article here]
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