Time Out

Author A.S. Byatt

I did an unusual thing for me ~ I took a week-and-a-half off day jobs & some creativity. The only things I did were to take some photos, do a few sketches, and read A.S. Byatt's Possession, which is 200% better than the movie. Am also reading her newest book The Children's Book! Oh, yes, last Sunday I put on an A.S. Byatt high tea replete with a huge teapot on my wood stove, home-made curry pasties, & of course scones with clotted cream. We listened to Byatt talk on the City Arts & Lecture on KQED, San Francisco, streamed on my laptop! My friend/mentor Elizabeth Stark was in the audience & asked a great question about the writing process. I'll let you know when you can go to the archives and download the lecture. I did see Byatt once in a lecture at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. She is warm, witty, and cozy. I also used to see her sister Margaret Drabble, another good writer, on the high street & near the secret garden in Hampstead, London when I lived there. It was wonderful to have time off to re-group & to set my goals for 2010 & for this next decade. I didn't lose my momentum as I'm now back in my studio & working on my ms. Do you give yourself time out to re-group, rest, and let your creativity percolate?!