We-l-l-l-l-l...okay. I guess so.

Funny thing about taking time off from writing. It doesn't quite work.

When you have a "real" job (or--gasp!--hobby), you take time off, recharge and come back raring to go. When you write, however, you sort of fade away.

I'm still doing research for my Leonardo book. Sort of. I took a side trip into a bit of research about Henry VIII and his children, which will have NOTHING to do with my book, but...well... the book was there in the library where I got some books about the Renaissance, and I read one, then another, and another--and now I'm on a whole new track about something that does not relate to my intended project at all.

Julia Cameron, writer of The Artist's Way (among other things), calls this "filling the well". She says, (on page 21 of AW): "Filling the well involves the active pursuit of images to refresh our artistic reservoirs...In filling the well, think magic. Think delight. Think fun. Do not think duty. Do not do what you should do--spiritual sit-ups like reading a dull but recommended critical text. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; think mystery, not mastery."

So. There you have it. I'm having fun, exploring. But...I'm fading out of writing, too. This appears to be a dangerous thing. I could drown in my own well.

Hopefully, I'll find a life jacket along the way and tow myself back to my manuscript.