In fact, quite the opposite.
Being away from home is an opportunity.
I used to be the woman who'd hide in the hotel room at conventions, terrified at the thought of being surrounded by strangers. Some minimal word count was accomplished in those days. My laptop, however, is not travelling with me anymore. It proved to be a waste of space. A paper notebook goes with me instead because I decided:
a.) I will stop lying to myself about 'how much I'm going to write'
b.) I will remove the 'run away to the room to write a while' excuse
c.) I will be open to meeting new people and exploring this new place
d.) I will allow myself the freedom to learn/see/do something new
Granted, I might return to the room for a while if anxiety is getting the best of me, but mostly my efforts are put into meeting new people, developing those friendships already sprouting with my peers, and catching up with old friends.
Writing is a solitary activity.
Travelling is an opportunity to explore and absorb,
to experience new settings, dialogue, characters,
new moods, tone, and sounds,
essentially to delve into new ideas
so that when I am once again
in front of that blank page,
I have more to offer than ever before.
