Renew Refresh Recharge

I love to sleep. I genuinely love it. It is one of my favorite things to do. I can function on six hours a night, but there is nothing as glorious to me as an eight hour snooze. Well, maybe one other glorious thing - a lazy afternoon nap. Twenty minutes on a busy day is all I need to recharge my battery. I love waking up feeling renewed, refreshed and recharged! Add a little coffee and look out world! I am ready to take on any challenge - angry Sorceress out for revenge, Dark Elves, Goblin Mafia families, end of the world.

Sleeping is not the only thing that can recharge me, though. On Saturday, I went to a Mid-Summer Schmooze with other writers. We met at a Nature Center, had great conversation and wandered through a marsh to find an inspiring writing (or illustrating) spot. We were even lucky enough to see a gopher snake during our meandering. To me, the setting was only part of the inspiration. I love spending time with other writers. I love hearing their ideas and sharing mine. Feedback is invaluable as is the comraderie. THIS renews, refreshes and recharges me in a big way! I came home excited about the old manuscript (willing to hand it off to my first readers), ready to dive in to some serious outlining on Shiny New Idea #1 and ready to jot down some notes for Shiny New Idea #2. It is such a supportive community - whether we are just blogging or we are joining writers groups. Isn't it wonderful to have those people around you? They lift you up and it's just a priceless companionship.

We need creative people around us because we aren't always inspired. Sometimes, we need them to validate that Shiny New Idea or the rewrite on our story. How many times have you had an idea that you are excited about and can't wait to delve deep into, but then The Voices creep in to tell you otherwise (we hates them, precious, nasty biters in our ears eating away at our writing self esteem). This is when a writing group can be the wind beneath our wings, holding us up, reassuring us that our idea is WONDERFUL (or at least headed that way). They can add to and enhance a SNI or polish up a spot on your current manuscript. You can walk into a schmooze feeling okay and walk out feeling energized. It's like an eight hour sleep or an afternoon nap!

How do you refresh, renew and recharge your own battery? Where do you plug in?


(Note: I know that isn't me in the picture sleeping, but they look much cuter than I do. And it is Lily's Garden, after all.)