Guest Post: Why I Invest in my Creative Wellness

June 20, 2018By Christina Delay

Creative burnout is a scary thing.

You’re blazing along, doing your work, trying to reach that elusive mirage we call success, and then all of a sudden you come up empty. No ideas, no juice, no words. Or maybe you’re still writing but the joy has gone out of it and the thing you used to love feels like a chore. Maybe you even stop writing, or maybe you make yourself sick worrying and fretting that you’ve forgotten how to write.

This can be terrifying or depressing or both.

Guest Post: Travel is the Best Investment for Writers

April 26, 2018By Christina Delay

The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only a page. – St Augustine

I believe that travel is the single best investment you can make as writer. 

I remember the first time I travelled by myself – I was sixteen and already too tall to be comfortable in the cramped window seat. My mom was sending me to Nepal to spend some time with older sister. Forced bonding time because we hated each other. 

The plane taxied down the runway, building speed for take off. The sound of the engines built inside the cabin and the vibrations rumbled through my bones. Fear and excitement twisted tighter and tighter in my belly.

Guest Post – Writing, Travel, and Creativity

March 28, 2018By Christina Delay

Did you know travel is scientifically proven to activate certain parts of the brain that contain your creativity centers? And, experiencing new cultures, food, languages–new experiences in general–actually create new synapses in your brain, leading to…you guessed it – higher creativity. Smack some writing down in the center of those new experiences and you’ve got a pretty foolproof recipe for fresh writing and unique characters.

Rachel Caine Visits Cruising Writers Writing Cruises

March 22, 2018By Christina Delay

I’m so excited to introduce you to the fabulous Rachel Caine, our resident author for the October writing cruise. I was lucky enough to get to meet her at a book signing earlier this year, and she is incredibly knowledgeable, hilarious, and passionate about writing, uplifting other authors, and books. I cannot wait to cruise … Read More

Guest Post: Writing and Traveling

January 31, 2018By Christina Delay

I’ve always told my boys it’s a big wide world out there and to take every opportunity you can to travel. The experience broadens you. Helps you see things from a different perspective. Allows you an insight into how other people live, cultures, and amazing differences we all have. It rounds you out and helps give understanding to the world around you.

So, how do you bring this all these travel experiences into your writing?

Smooth Sailing on Cruising Writers

November 10, 2017By Christina Delay

by Julie Glover I’d been on two previous cruises and the land retreat in France hosted by Cruising Writers. But when the September 2017 cruise got scheduled, I said to owner Christina Delay, “I’m not going.” Then she said, “Lisa Cron and Angela Ackerman are going,” and I said, “Okay, I’m going.” How quickly she … Read More

The First Draft Jungle

October 18, 2017By Christina Delay

I love posting over at the award-winning blog, Writers in the Storm. They have a plethora of wonderful resources for writers on writing craft and more, and they allowed me to talk about one of my favorite things: Creative Well-Being and Writing Retreats. This one is especially timely with NaNoWriMo just around the corner! Here’s … Read More

Girl Friday on a Writing Retreat

October 9, 2017By Christina Delay

By Melinda VanLone This was my third experience with Cruising Writers, but the first time I’ve been on the “other” side, the help-organize-and-run-things side, and the first time I had an actual title on my name badge. Being Girl Friday meant I was the one who scheduled all the one-on-one sessions with the speakers, the … Read More

An Author’s Drive to Survive

August 7, 2017By Christina Delay

I love posting over at the award-winning blog, Writers in the Storm. They have a plethora of wonderful resources for writers on writing craft and more, and they allowed me to talk about one of my favorite things: Creative Well-Being and Author Writing Retreats. I recently watched a talk about the drive to survive; how … Read More