March 2014 - JE Gurley

I have the good fortune or the foresight to live in Tucson, Arizona. While the rest of the country was experiencing the worst winter in years, still is in places, I complained about 40 degree nights. Here, our winters are short (3-4 days) and the snow is on the top of nearby Mt. Lemmon where I can see it without having to shovel it. I have endured harsh winters – Chicago, Poconos in Pennsylvania, a Christmas visit to Detroit – so I know how it can affect your mental outlook. You have my deepest sympathy.

As a writer, it is often difficult enough to dredge up scenes from your mind in the best of circumstances. It is only made harder by the often oppressing gloom and darkness of winter. Oh, I know some people enjoy winter sports, but to me if a sport requires more than shorts and sandals, it’s too strenuous. Shirt, sweater, jacket, hooded parka, goggles, and two pair of pants smother the body. I prefer the beach or the pool, or on really cool days (70 degrees), the hot tub. Finding that perfect word or turn of a phrase while beating your arms across your body or holding your feet in front of the fireplace to stay warm doesn’t help. Cold weather slows the blood flow and causes ideas to crystallize between synapses instead of passing through them. Hot toddies or a shot of vodka can help, but too much drinking just lowers your body temperature, although it can often induce wonderful dreams..

Watching people search for beachfront property in Hawaii or other tropical locals on TV can help, but often just causes envy to rear its ugly head. I recently took a Mexican cruise. It was wonderful. NO cell phone, no computer, no news for seven days. Cleared my head. Not everyone can do this. So here’s an idea.

Close your eyes. Try to imagine you’re lying on a sandy beach – Tahiti, Cozumel, Bora Bora – drink in hand (Insert your preference). An umbrella stirrer with fruit would be a nice touch. A gentle warm breeze is blowing across your face. The sound of waves lapping the shore rhythmically lull you to a state of drowsiness. In the distance, a mariachi band or a steel band is playing softly. Perhaps some steel band Pink Floyd. Relaxed? Warm and cozy? Now, let your mind wander down tropical corridors lined with shelves of beautiful words. Reach out and grab the words. Taste them. They taste like pineapple or papaya. You smile. Now. allow your mind to roam freely. Ideas begin to flow. Words appear magically in your mind. Stories spring full blown from your fingertips. You are happy. You are content. You are warm.

Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night … It works for writers as well. If your story’s environment can create conflict or add tension, surely your locale can too. Use your mind’s environment to control your environment. You can’t all move to Arizona. I won’t let you. It’s getting too crowded. I saw eight cars on the Interstate during rush hour. Someday, your location will warm again. Unless you live in Canada. There’s no hope for you Canadians.

PS This doesn’t apply in Arizona. We just have to learn to live in a perfect environment. It’s never too hot in the summer to go inside and chill around the A/C.

Drop that pen and paper! Step away from the keyboard! I’m saying this for your own good. If you’re a writer, chances are that your mind works differently from so-called normal people. Your mind works continuously, no breaks, no days off. Even dreams and nightmares (especially nightmares) become fodder for your pen. Every time you sit at a restaurant, you’re watching people, listening to snatches of conversation, noting sounds and smells. An airport terminal, even a hospital ER become scenes in your head. How many times have you snapped awake in the middle of the night, jumped out of bed, and jotted down a thought before it became lost in oblivion.

It’s time for a break.

My wife and I haven’t had a vacation in ten years. Oh, we’ve gone lots of places, but they all involved conventions, conferences or book signings. Fine for me, but my wife was just along for the ride and to be supportive. Or maybe she just doesn’t trust me alone with a bunch of fellow horror writers. I can’t blame her. We’re a scary bunch prone to doing weird things for fun. This year, we went on a real, honest-to-God vacation, a cruise.

When I head cruise, I said, yeah, that’s like jumping from a burning airplane with a bed sheet for a parachute or rafting a raging river clinging to a rubber ducky. Every time I turned on the news, it was another cruise ship on fire, sinking, powerless with overflowing toilets, or filled with hundreds of sick passengers. Not my idea of a good time. Don’t get me wrong. I love the water and I love boats. I worked on several boats in the Gulf of Mexico when I worked for oil companies. I had a few of those sink and a helicopter splash down, but that was just good times – fun. I’m older, somewhat wiser, and not as athletic now. Why a crusie. I could die just as easily in my own home with less hassle.

Nevertheless, we booked a 7-day cruise on the Princess Sapphire from LA to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Ensenada. It was Wonderful. First, no internet (2.5 hours for $75), no phones, and no writing. I brought my Kindle along to catch up with my large backlog of reading, and managed to read the last half of V-Wars by Jonathan Maberry and friends. Almost 3,000 people aboard, but plenty of privacy. Shows, contests, movies, 10-12 restaurants, bars, games – plenty to do. First, we had a mid-ship outside mini-suite with a balcony. We had room service breakfast on the balcony. The crew catered to all our needs.

I’ve been to Mexico many times. I live in Tucson, so I can buy Mexican goods as cheaply as anyone just down the street with no drug cartel action, but I’ve never been to the pacific side of the country. A tour of Puerto Vallarta included a tequila factory with samples. Very nice. In Cabo I went to Cabo Wabo Cantina for lunch. Unfortunately, Sammy Hagar wasn’t there, but the food was good. The real star of the cruise was the cruise. I’ve never been so relaxed. I thought I would be jonesing to write, but I let my mind chill for a few days. It recharged the ‘leetel gray cells’, as Hercule Poirot is wont to say (Always wanted to write that, just never found the right spot).

The cruise allowed me to clear away the chaff of second-guessing already published books, doubts about re-writes and re-submissions, and the hundreds of ideas for new novels. I came away clear-minded and focused. I jumped right into my next project with newly found energy. So I say to you, fellow writer, or just normal person, step away from whatever you’re doing. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Find something, be it a cruise, a week-end away from home, or a project different from your normal routine. Allow your mind to expand, and then contract like the universe around you, and you will find new energy, new enthusiasm, and new hope for whatever you endeavor. Sometimes, a different prospective on projects and life in general are necessary for long-term survival as a species and as an individual.

PS I suggest a long cruise.

Archives for March 2014

Is It Spring Yet?

Stepping Back