Down Time

Recharging for me takes two forms. One is to spend time with friends, laugh, be loud, and usually play silly games, some of which involve, as we so gently put it, "killin' shit." Yes, I'm a geek and I'm talking about those goofy role-playing games that many of my friends never outgrew. Face it, killing monsters, even imaginary ones, is a great way to blow off steam. Giggling idiotically with fellow writers also does the trick. (S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!, Dakota!)

My other recharge is the opposite, the solitary one. What do I do when I need to escape the hustle and bustle? Go figure. I read. Yep. I read someone else's books. If I'm trying to recharge from work stress, then I'll read something totally different than my writing. Usually historicals. Read a really good one yesterday morning, and it wiped away a lot of the previous day's stress. Didn't get any writing done that morning, but I gor back to liking my writing. And that's worth a lot.

This time of year, I also try to indulge in a few Christmas specials, if I can sneak them in when the guys aren't around. I can get away with "Bad Santa" or other crude & funny holiday movies around the guys (which is okay, as I like those too) but I also like to see a few romantic ones, which the guys can't stand. So I do like to recharge my holiday spirit when I'm on my own.

However you like to recharge, never feel you have to defend your methods. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, do what you need to do, and don't feel guilty about it.