Writing at Sea

Why is it I get more writing done at sea than any other place? I genuinely love sunning on my balcony or a deck that overlooks the water -- and writing. Yeah, something is wrong with me. While other people party, gamble, and make out on the decks, I'm soaking up the peace, lack of interruptions, and freedom of the whole environment with pen and paper -- not a laptop -- pen and paper.

On my last cruise, I took a shot of this charming girl in Cozumel who was probably the only one of her entire dancing troupe that was having a good time. Most of her dance mates faked half hearted smiles or looked downright miserable as they suffered through the latest performance for tourists. But this little girl? She loved every minute.

Perhaps that's why I got an entire treatment written on a four day cruise. Because I loved every minute. (I didn't say it was a good treatment, only that I finished one)

The self imposed pressure is gone at sea and getting lost in that writer's zone is as effortless as the sun on my face. The hardest part is remembering to step out of that zone and refresh my sunscreen. The older I get the less my grandmother's Hispanic heritage protects me from sunburn. A lady approached me once and asked what tanning product I used to get my marvelous tan. Hmm. Was it marvelous? I hadn't noticed. I gave her my product and told her to keep it. I had another one in my cabin. I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd been on deck almost eight hours that day.

Yeah, time to book another cruise.