The Magical Land Called “Outside”

Feb 20, 2009

While talking to my friend Marsha, a hip chick writer in London, I said how theraputic I find it just visit the land of “Outside”.  Fresh air helps bring us into balance after long days of dealing with the stresses of being a writer: chaos, uncertainty, and pressure.

One of the best benefits of venturing to the Outside is taking notes.  There is nothing better than observing people for both entertainment and for gathering bits of information to help bring reality into your fiction.  I find little things like smells and sounds much easier to describe when I sit among them.  So I like to go out with a little notebook and just watch (okay, and sniff).

I had decided some months ago that part of my next novel, Familiar Demons, is going to be set partly in Amsterdam.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince my Sweetheart that now really was a good time to make a trip (even though it’s really a very short flight from here), but it’s been a couple years since I’ve been there, and I didn’t want to annoy all my Dutch friends with shoddy, inaccurate descriptions.  I decided though, not to mention it, and to worry about that later. (I’m the Queen of Procrastination.  Don’t believe me?  I just yesterday took down my Christmas Tree.  Beat THAT.)

About two weeks after I started shaping the outline for Familiar Demons, Sweetheart said to me, “Hey, let’s get away for a weekend around Valentine’s Day.  How about Holland?”   My response was somewhere between “Oohhhh” and “Squeeeeeee”.

So this weekend I journey to the Dutch Outside to recharge and research.  And maybe even room service and hotel sex, two of the best things in life.  So the blog, Twitter, and Facebook will be quiet for me for a few days, but when I come back I’ll be rested and ready for a good cocktail of work and nonsense.

See you Monday!