This summer has been a scorcher so far. During these hazy, lazy days of summer, sometimes it can be a little difficult to get motivated to do much more than what is necessary and then sit by the pool or in the shade of a rock until the heat subsides.
Out here in the desert we are having our usual high temps, so it’s no surprise, but the rest of the country seems to be pretty toasty too.
I find summers kind of funny because if it gets too hot, it is much like winter where you can’t go outside on account of the weather. The difference is that in the winter you can layer on more clothes, but in the summer, removing clothes beyond a certain point is relatively frowned upon.
Once you’ve taken off everything you can and you grab an ice-cold lemonade, how do you get motivated to get your words down on the page?
It probably depends on your life.
- Maybe your kiddos are home for the summer, and you find that your days are packed with pool trips and library reading groups and more noise.
- Perhaps you are a teacher and you have summers to catch up on sleep and seeing friends and all those things you don’t have time to do during they year when you are educating the future.
- Maybe you work and your summer is just like every other time of year except that it’s hotter.
- Or maybe you have some extra time on your hands and you’re bored and after you catch up on laundry, you are planning to wile your day away doing nothing.
What about your life makes the summer the perfect time to write? And what about summer makes writing difficult?
Thinking about what you want from your summer is the first step in harnessing these sweat-laden days.
I find that when we change to the summer season, I so badly want to get everything finished that I had to put aside during the school year.
Summers seem to be about excitement and change and expectations of fun. And while summers days can be all of those things, I find that sometimes I get really busy just like I do during the rest of the year, and then I am prone to be even more frustrated because I was really hoping to get a lot done in this different season.
This year I am really challenged to have clear expectations for myself. I have a few projects that I would like to get finished, and I am working toward those being done. But I am also giving myself a break and acknowledging that I have a tendency to over plan and even projects need time to grow.
The garden at Baker’s Seed Company in Mansfield, Missouri. Go check them out if your summer plans include growing amazingly cool, heirloom plants.
I also like to look to summer days for inspiration.
Writing is, oddly enough, not just about writing.
Writing is about translating the human experience into words for other people to relate to.
And in order to do that, I find that it helps to set aside time to take in moments and the beauty around me.
If your schedule is a little upended in the summer like mine is, that can be the perfect time to see what is new around you.
- Different fashions
- New foods
- New places
- Sitting quietly with an iced coffee watching a group of kids not using their inside voices—so much funny
Lunch at a new place Palette in Atwater Village. Food and colors are great inspiration.
And those hot days can also be great for rest.
Recharge.
Set down the expectations you have for your day and see what emerges. Read a magazine or watch the clouds move in the sky.
Cultivating a life of writing is about filling the tank so that you have something to say, and if you’re exhausted, it can be hard to keep going no matter the weather.
How do you spend your summer days? Do you find it easier to get writing and creating done or do you let it go for a while? What adventures have you found this summer and how have they inspired you?
