should I get a hotel room?

Aesposito · Jun 11, 2007

I have a few unfinished books floating around on my hard drive. The problem is, between paying freelance gigs, my "real" job, and three annoying children (four if you count my husband, LOL), I have no time to mess with what amounts to writing on spec.

So, I'm considering getting a hotel room for some upcoming weekend, just me and room service and a hefty bill (to increase the guilt factor). No kids, no distractions. I'll spend the whole weekend doing nothing but finishing these books, pounding away, uninterrupted (or at least coming a step closer to finishing).

Anyone else ever try that? Any thoughts?

Audrey

BlueExcelsior · Jun 11, 2007

Well, I can't speak for you, but as for me, whenever I set aside a time completely dedicated to writing, that's the one time that my muse is absent and I am completely uninspired and unable to write, or if I do, it's crap. Remember Murphy's law!
That said, if you feel confident and you have a clear direction, and the only thing standing in your way is peace and quiet, it might be a good idea.

JoNightshade · Jun 11, 2007

I'd suggest choosing one of your projects and just focusing on that. If you actually accomplish something with the weekend, it'll feel that much better to have it all in one place.

I once went away by myself for two nights. I was studying in England and had 2 roomies in very close quarters... sharing a bathroom, kitchen, and living room with about 20 other people. Finally I had to get away. I got a room in a B&B where I was the only guest and the guy who owned the place waited on me hand and foot. I spent those two days wandering around that quaint English country town, exploring churches and shops and gardens, and in the course of two evenings I hand wrote something like the first 50 pages of my novel. It was, in a word, divine.

Tracy · Jun 11, 2007

One of my writing friends does that. She rents a room in the local Holiday Inn, by the day, and goes there and writes. Swears by it.

JamieFord · Jun 11, 2007

I used to call in sick to stay home and write. I highly recommend it. (Cough...cough...)

Garpy · Jun 12, 2007

I go and sit in Starbucks, with my ipod on. That way I don't feel so lonely. I'm also working on a laptop that doesn't have Wifi, so I'm not tempted to keep checking emails and Amazon stats.

loiterer · Jun 12, 2007

Often taking a short bit of time away from everything just to write can really work wonders. If you do so, though, promise yourself you will NOT think of your husband/kids/work/hotel bill/etc. This would be very detrimental.

Also, make sure the hotel isn't too nice! I say this as someone who has taken time out of normal life to write at my parents' holiday home in a small town by the beach. Since they have furnished it so nicely and it has an excellent stereo/TV/DVD, not to mention the gorgeous empty beaches nearby, I am too easily distracted.

I got much more writing done when my parents borrowed the house back briefly and I was forced to go stay in some cockroach-ridden motel with neighbours that kept me up all night. Wrote like a dervish then.

Penguin Queen · Jun 12, 2007

I think thats what Maya Angelou does. Goes to a hotel somewhere with no distractions and writes writes writes.

I dont think I could - I need a distraction to pit myself against as it were, to achieve concentration. But it obviously works for some people, so it might well work for you. Go for it.

job · Jun 12, 2007

Some folks are binge writers, I think. They can get 28 hours of writing packed into two days.
Renting a hotel room makes sense to them.

Some folks are 'I can do five hours a day and then I dry up' writers.
They're the ones who go to coffee shops from 7 am till 1 pm, four or five times a week.

Some folks manage to work at home.
I dunnoh. Maybe they lock themselves in the attic and put up razor wire.

Ardellis · Jun 12, 2007

job said:
Some folks manage to work at home.
I dunnoh. Maybe they lock themselves in the attic and put up raxor wire.

I wish! I have to settle for getting up at 4:30am when no one will disturb me.

Seriously, Audrey: if a change of venue and a spot of quiet is what you need, go for it.

You might look for a hotel with a mini fridge, though, so you can bring some of your own food and keep the calls to room service to a minimum. Not only might it help a bit with the expense, it'll reduce the amount of contact you have to have with the outside world.

glendalough · Jun 12, 2007

I can't speak for you, but I can speak for myself...I'd end up reading, watching tv, sleeping....lol

Is there any way you can change your schedule to accomodate writing? Get up earlier (not for the internet!) or stay up later (not for tv!) or uh...use the phone less? Perhaps you could find a thing for the kids to do (playstation for 2 hours as long as you are quiet and I can write...) or somewhere for them to go (a friends, a class) while you write?

LaceWing · Jun 12, 2007

Ha! It could work if you let your mc chose the place. You know, like a special date.

maddythemad · Jun 12, 2007

Garpy said:
I go and sit in Starbucks, with my ipod on. That way I don't feel so lonely. I'm also working on a laptop that doesn't have Wifi, so I'm not tempted to keep checking emails and Amazon stats.

I love this too. Except I don't have an ipod, so I'm just listening to the people around me... sometimes I write down their conversations.

Pagey's_Girl · Jun 12, 2007

That would pretty much guarantee my muse would go AWOL...

DamaNegra · Jun 12, 2007

Last week, I went with my father on a business trip and stayed at a hotel where you had to pay for the WiFi. Obviously, we didn't pay for the WiFi, and during the 4 hours I spent locked up in the hotel room while my father gave a conference, I wrote 5000 words.

So neener neener :e2tongue:

to all those who think it can't be done!!

Go for it! You'll see how great it is! The new environment will also stimulate your creativity. Trust me.

Julie Worth · Jun 12, 2007

BlueExcelsior said:
Well, I can't speak for you, but as for me, whenever I set aside a time completely dedicated to writing, that's the one time that my muse is absent and I am completely uninspired and unable to write, or if I do, it's crap.

That's the truth! If I go for a walk, I get ideas. If I take a notepad with me, I don't.

Julie Worth · Jun 12, 2007

DamaNegra said:
Last week, I went with my father on a business trip and stayed at a hotel where you had to pay for the WiFi. Obviously, we didn't pay for the WiFi, and during the 4 hours I spent locked up in the hotel room while my father gave a conference, I wrote 5000 words.

Cheaper just to stay home and unplug your Internet connection.

Mud Dauber · Jun 12, 2007

Aesposito said:
So, I'm considering getting a hotel room for some upcoming weekend, just me and room service and a hefty bill (to increase the guilt factor). No kids, no distractions. I'll spend the whole weekend doing nothing but finishing these books, pounding away, uninterrupted (or at least coming a step closer to finishing).

Audrey, this has been a longtime DREAM of mine! :tongue

I think any mom can relate to your idea, especially now that school's out for summer and the kids are home, 24/7. :e2poke:

Let us know if you end up doing it... and let us know if it works.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 12, 2007

Room

I've rented both hotel and motel rooms. Once rented a motel room for a month during the off season, and got it dirt cheap.

But an apartment worked better. Until I had room for a home office, I rented a cheap apartment just for writing.

I think the value of a private place and quiet time can't be overrated.

Adam Israel · Jun 12, 2007

What may be a cheaper option, if there's one available in your area, is a writers retreat. I know that there is one at the University of Kansas coming up in a month, where writers can simply rent a dorm room and write. I don't know how common that is but it may be worth looking into.

Gillhoughly · Jun 12, 2007

I've a friend with the same problem. Spouse and three kids were convinced they would die if she wasn't available 24/7 to see to their every need. (Honey? I can't find my sock drawer! Mom--he's looking at me funny again, make him stop!)

She made a writing area for herself and she made rules. In her chaotic, dysfunctional family, she MADE RULES. She enforced them.

Number one was "When the door is shut I am not mom--LEAVE ME ALONE. NO EXCEPTIONS."

Unless it was actual arterial blood pumping from a wound and gunfire was involved they were to look after themselves for the duration. It taught them responsibility and she was able to write.

I had to train my spouse on this point when I was married. After spouse walked in a couple times without knocking and got a verbal decapitation the message finally penetrated. When spouse was doing something requiring concentration I kept out of the way in turn.

A cheaper alternative for you is to go to the library and write there for a few hours a day. You'll get plenty of work done.

I understand Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in a library typing cubical. I typed in one myself when growing up in order to get away from my family. I'd haul my old portable in and tap my way through another thousand words of drek on my way to publication.

It was soooooo quiet!

Writer2011 · Jun 12, 2007

I myself have never done that, but contemplated the idea

ChaosTitan · Jun 12, 2007

What happens when the weekend is over? Are you going to go back next weekend? And the next? And the next? Never spend the weekend with your family, because you can't manage to carve writing time out of your regular days?

Going away for a few days is something I dream about, but that's only because I don't have money for travel.

Something that is said over and over on this forum is that writers write. We find the time, even if it's one hour at 2am, right before bed. Or getting up at 5am, before everyone else, and getting in ninety minutes. As Gillhoughly suggested, make some rules for your family. Let them know, in no uncertain terms, when your writing time is and that you are not available unless someone is on fire.

Working writing time into your everday life creates better habits and makes you responsible for how you spend your time. If I don't squeeze my writing in every day, it is no one's fault but my own. No weekend at a motel beats out self-discipline.

Death Wizard · Jun 12, 2007

A weekend wouldn't be long enough for me to accomplish much. I'd need an entire week, at least.

FennelGiraffe · Jun 12, 2007

Find some friends who are going away for the weekend and ask how they would feel about you staying at their house. That would give you an opportunity to see whether a weekend alone would be productive for you, without the expense of a hotel.

Not your next-door neighbors, of course,

. That would be too close to home.

should I get a hotel room?

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