Not Writing

By Terry Wright

With the Colorado Gold Writing Contest entries off to the judges, two e-books published on TWB Press, three edited, and two blogs awaiting my attention, I thought I’d write about not writing. After all, it’s easy to spend hour after hour at the computer, so I have to come up with diversions to keep me sane.

As you can see by the picture, I think tall ship sailing is the ultimate escape from the writing business. Twice Bobette and I have sailed on the Royal Clipper, the largest five-masted, square-sailed tall ship in the world (to date). No phones, no computers, no TV, no gambling, no stage productions, no onboard movies, or humungous water slides, and most of all, no crowds. An evening on deck, listening to the squeak of the rigging, the flutter of the jibs, and the splash of the sea beats writing every time.

However, I can’t escape to the Caribbean each time I need a break, so I think it’s important to have hobbies and other devices (exclude reading here, please). I picked up the guitar again after a 40-year hiatus, and I’m attempting to learn piano. It’s ugly, believe me. Taz, our 15 pound Yorkiezilla, will chase a ball at the drop of a Kibble. We walk over 3 miles most every morning, that gets me away from the house, and last weekend, Bobette and I took the Motor Home to Buena Vista for a Saturday night sleepover at the KOA campground.

Those of you with kids probably don’t get enough time to write, and the same goes for everyone else working a full-time job. Not writing is exactly your opposite goal: too many diversions. So not writing is not always a good thing.

Whenever I get with my writing friends, we mostly talk about writing, critique, blogging, publishing, and what books we’ve read. I rarely get to know writers beyond their professional realm. So here’s your opportunity to tell me, and everyone else, what it is that you do when you’re not writing.

In the meantime, enjoy the video.