I thought this week would never get here, and yet the summer flew by, and now I don’t feel ready! I’m taking lots of deep (excited) breaths this week, getting ready to go to England for a month.

I was in England two years ago, visiting the homes of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Beatrix Potter, in order to write historical mysteries I had contracted for. I made a mental note during that trip that someday I wanted to go back and explore the Yorkshire Dales. The Dales have the moors like the Brontë village of Haworth, but it’s greener and warmer. For a couple of years, I’ve nursed an idea for a series set there.

Research in Person: Nothing Quite Like It

So it’s time to go back! Only this time I plan to do what I’ve heard other writers talk about for years: stay longer and write there. My husband is coming for ten days, then flying home to go back to work. I will stay the remainder of the month (in a cute little apartment we rented in the small village of Settle.) I plan to write and write and write.

This is definitely one of the perks of being a writer who’s been around a while. I document everything for the IRS, probably giving them more paperwork than they like to read. But I honestly can’t afford this kind of travel unless it gives me a huge tax break. I was able to write off most of my trip last time by proving that I had contracts for the Brontë and Austen books (and I wasn’t just going on a vacation.) Of course, on this trip, I can’t write off my husband’s plane ticket, but the apartment costs the same whether one person is staying there or four people. And renting a car or a driver is the same whether it’s just for me or for us both.

My Plan for the Month

We arrive in England on Saturday morning after the all-night flight. I’ll post some pictures next week while we’re out hiking and visiting museums and riding the trains and exploring the rocky hills (with their grazing sheep and waterfalls and caves).

However, after my husband flies home, I plan to dig in for some undistracted writing. Instead of posting immediately to Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest, I will save those new photos to post when I get home. I only plan to keep up with my husband, children and grandchildren while I’m writing. (That’s the hard part about choosing to be gone this long—all their lives I’ve seen the grandkids nearly every week.)

Deep Work in a Distracted World

If you’re at all introverted, you know the joy I anticipate at being able to write for three weeks without distraction. Oh, I will take plenty of breaks. The apartment is in the heart of the oldest part of the village. The pub and bakeries are only half a block away. A museum housed in a building built in 1670 is right across the street. And just a few blocks away are the woods and the open moors, perfect for walking and ruminating. But mostly, I’ll be reading and writing. (I’ve done months of book research already.)

Last year, when I ran into a number of health issues, I realized I was having difficulty focusing when I got back to work. Some, I learned, was due to illness, but a LOT of it came down to my lifestyle, including too much smartphone use. I went on a reading spree, studying how the brain works. I also read three books that convinced me to unplug from all devices for periods of time, and work (like I used to do on that Iowa farm when I started writing). Your writer’s brain needs chunks of time without the constant influx of information from multiple sources.

We’re All in This Together

It isn’t only me. It isn’t just kids who spend too much time playing video games on their phones. This applies to all of us, and ESPECIALLY to people like us who depend on being able to think deeply and use our God-given brains and imaginations to their utmost.

So, while I’m secluded in that English village after my husband goes home, maybe you’d like to read one (or all three) of these books. (You can get them used, if you want to.) I’m sure I’ll be blogging about them more in the future.

• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport (Excellent book, easy to understand, very practical guide for regaining your ability to focus and do the deep writing that editors expect.)

 

• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (If you feel over-committed, overloaded or overworked, this book is for you. It will teach you how to do less but accomplish more.)

 

• Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self by Manoush Zomorodi (People today can’t stand to be bored. They are constantly connected to one device or another. This author explores the connection between boredom and original thinking, and why unplugging for longer chunks of time will unleash your creativity again. The best writers and inventors let their minds wander a lot!)

And now, I’m off to watch a YouTube video one more time about how to pack my Weekender Laptop Backpack. (See below.) It must have thirty hidden pockets. My inner organizer can’t wait!