I can't, I have to write

So I'm headed for a lovely weekend in wine country. I agreed to go without much thought — I mean, it's a expenses-paid trip with alcohol involved — but as departure time got closer, I started worrying. Should I take my laptop, so that I could write? I would be leaving straight from work, so maybe I could just take my work laptop? But it seemed wrong to use it for non-work purposes. Notebook and pen, then, but would my companions give me time to write? What if they asked what I was writing and I was in the middle of a steamy sex scene?

I also chatted with someone else who had run a half-marathon, and we began contemplating a full marathon together. I had no social life while training for 13.1 miles, so imagine what it's going to be like when working up to 26.2. It's going to be negative free time.

But I imagine saying, "I can't, I have to write," and I just cringe. Writing is something I should be able to fit in no matter what else I'm doing. And denying myself fun would be a great way to start resenting writing.

So I'm off to enjoy myself. And if I'm lying by the pool, seeming to sunbathe, I'll actually be brainstorming for the story, I promise.