Ask Cartoon Girl | going away

Dear Cartoon Girl,

 

Have you ever gone to an arts colony -- you know, one of those places where you have a beautiful, inspiring workspace and a big chunk of unstructured time and someone to cook for you, and when you're not working you get to hang around with other writers and artists and composers? This has always sounded like heaven to me, so I decided to apply for a residency and got one. I was all yay at first, but now, with the time approaching, I’m terrified of leaving my day job and my life. There’s so much to do before I leave. I’m overwhelmed, past the point of exhaustion, almost paralyzed.  Can ANY experience be worth this much effort?

— Hyper-Responsible

Dear Hyper,

It’s a little like death, isn’t it, to imagine the world getting along without you.  Sad.  Scary.  But liberating, too -- to be unmoored, away, incognito, invisible.  To shake off expectations, think thoughts you might never have thought, write things you might never have written.  Your every breath so inspired it needs its own exclamation mark! 

That's why people go to arts colonies.

Arranging to take time off is always hard.  It's especially hard for you because you're Hyper-Responsible.  When you get to your colony, you may need to spend a few days sleeping.  Then you'll wake up in that delicious, drooly, half-dream state that's so good for writing, and you'll have free time and no distractions, and whoosh!  Yes.  To get to that place is worth the effort.

You're still in the guilty-about-leaving phase, Hyper.  Your guilt is a problem that, like most problems, can be cured by writing.  Make a list of all the things you'll do (you promise!) when you get back home.  Even if you never look at it again, the list will make it easier for you to leave.  Think of it as your permission slip.

Love,
Cartoon Girl


Need advice about your writing life?  Ask Cartoon Girl.