Date: 2008-01-09 10:57 Subject: Vacation writing Security: Public Tags: breed 77, tea, writing

One of the odd things about being on vacation is that it's harder to work on a novel. I guess it's because on vacation you have no routines, and a novel, being such a big work, almost requires some kind of routine to make progress. There's so much to keep current in your head, and it's something you simply have to pace. I could say no one ever managed a novel at a sprint, but that's patently untrue. However, I certainly never have. The fastest I ever managed a first draft was 6 weeks, and that was a fairly short first draft, driven by the kind of immediate inspiration that comes only once or twice in your lifetime, and in any case, 6 weeks isn't a sprint.

So, breaking the routine breaks the pace, and the novel stutters, temporarily. The good thing about this is that a vacation is a really good time to work on shorter fiction. I've had a bunch of short stories hanging around waiting to be revised for ages now, and the vacation has finally given me the chance to tidy them up. I'm hoping to send three out today, bringing my grand total of short stories in circulation to four. Which doesn't sound many to most of you, I'm sure, but it's the most I've managed for several years.

We spent the morning in Espresso Royale, in downtown East Lansing. Espresso Royale is my favourite cafe in town. It's got a nice atmosphere, friendly staff and, remarkably, really good tea. Not Betjeman and Barton quality good, of course, but the nicest I've come across in the US, and way better than 99.9% of the British cafes I've tried.

The weather here has finally stopped trying to emulate Wales (national motto: "Not always raining", according to Jasper Fforde). The skies have cleared, the sun is out and warm, and the air has a delightful chill to it. It feels like winter, although not like the type of Michigan winter I was promised/threatened with. More like the kind of nice British winter that happens from time to time.

And, last but not least, I've spent my Christmas iTunes voucher on Breed 77's Un Encuentro. Breed 77 are a Gibraltar band who fuse Latin with Heavy Metal for a really energetic, dynamic sound. Un Encuentro is probably their most Latin-influenced album, and their most interesting. I can't recommend it too highly.

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