14 Aug 2014
The laptop, or a writer considers vacation
In just over a month, my husband and I and a couple of friends will be heading off on a long-planned trip to Italy.
And at the moment, this wondrous trip is causing me a dilemma. My husband thinks it’s a bit absurd for me to take my laptop. Our friend will have a tablet so we can check email occasionally, look up local information, etc. We’re taking trains between cities, so anything we don’t have to haul with us is a bonus. We’ll be with friends, so “down time” will probably be spent sipping wine, playing cards, and chatting, except maybe first thing in the morning–and then I think the DH might have notions that don’t include me working. And the damn thing has a battery life of about 3.7 minutes when it’s in active use, so I’d constantly be hauling out a power cord and converter if I were going to try to use it regularly. Kind of a pest on the train between Florence and Rome.
In any case, it’s unrealistic to think I’ll be taking a lot of time to work on this trip and that’s probably a good thing. I’ve had time away from the computer in the past 18 months, but except for the weekend at Kripalu, anything longer than a day’s break was a trip to my mom’s. I love my mom, but visits with her are extremely anxiety-producing for days spent hanging out in a pretty little town doing nothing much, since every minute brings a new reminder of her declining health. I need an actual vacation and I know it.
Yet I practically had a fight with my beloved over the damn laptop this morning and I’ve figured out why. I feel on some level that bringing it with me and trying to work even while on the trip of a lifetime proves I’m serious about this writing thing, that I deserve success. If I’m spending my morning hours on vacation slaving away at smutty romances instead of seeing how the morning light colors the ancient buildings of Rome (or actually doing something romantic and smutty with my husband on a trip that’s partly to celebrate our 20th anniversary…), it will signal the gods and Muses that they should shower good things upon me.
Yeah, right. The amount of work I’m likely to produce isn’t likely to make a difference one way or another. It’s purely magical thinking. In fact, I’d probably be better off just bringing a notebook or two so I can journal, jot down impressions, and play with words, remind myself why this writing gig is worth the pain.
I was relieved to get out of my old job, in part, because I’d no longer have to deal with work issues when I was traveling. Don’t I owe myself that much courtesy as a self-employed person?
Am I crazy to think I could get away without a computer for two weeks? What do you think?
© Phil Date | Dreamstime Stock Photos
A similar question came up on a professional writers list recently: how to best take notes while traveling (the author in question was going on an African safari and hoped/planned to write at least one novel in that locale). The most-repeated advice was to take notes no less than once a day—at the very least, in the evening, sit down and write down whatever you need/want to remember. Especially important for authors, of course, is impressions: what did things smell like, sound like, taste like? What was the energy of the place? Details? Photographs are sufficient for what things looked like, of course, but how does the light quality change? That sort of thing.
When we did 3 weeks in the Alps on the motorcycle, I had a Palm Pilot and extended keyboard, and I did that each night, and it was a godsend. If I’d waited even a couple of days, I’d’ve lost so many details.
Now I travel with an iPad and keyboard. It’s light, easy to transport, also allows me access to email, and has a long battery life. Various programs are available that translate back and forth to Word w/o a hitch. It’s not as good for hardcore work, but as something to take notes on, write snippets, etc., it’s perfect. (Plus there’s the Kindle app, so technically I don’t need my Kindle, but I have the bigger iPad and it’s not as comfortable for reading. But the option is there in a pinch.)
Of course, afterwards all you need to do is sell a couple of stories or a novel set there, and you can write the whole trip off on taxes. That’s the other reason to take copious notes: to show that you were serious about using the locale and that being in the locale gave you more information that just looking things up on Google or reading a travel guide.
Dayle
August 14th, 2014 at 6:59 PMpermalink
Dayle, I like the idea of taking copious notes, not just so I can use them for a possible story/book later, but so I can remember. That’s something I can easily do on paper, though. Someday I may get a tablet, which would be perfect for traveling, but that’s definitely a “fun toy,” not a need, so it’s not on the list at the moment. I may still bring the laptop…but in some ways I think reverting to paper will be good for me. It’s how I write poetry, which is something I’ve done far too little lately, and thus how I’m *used* to capturing fleeting sensory impressions.
Teresa Noelle Roberts
August 14th, 2014 at 11:15 PMpermalink
Fair enough. I can’t write nearly as fast as I type, and I hate transcribing, so I do very little by hand.
The only place I handwrite is in bed, if something must be scribbled down before I forget, with a little notebook and light-up pen.
Dayle
August 15th, 2014 at 2:56 AMpermalink
I don’t think I’d want to do work on a story or novel by hand, but for a travel journal it should be fine. Should be. I hope!
Teresa Noelle Roberts
August 15th, 2014 at 8:08 AMpermalink
When in the home of Muses, satyrs, and old gods, take a notebook for notes, but leave work at home and let them whisper stories of their own to you.
Melissa
August 17th, 2014 at 1:40 PMpermalink