Summer Love of Kayaking (Kristin Rae)

I didn't really have a summer romance, but this summer I learned that I love brainstorming out on my kayak. A few years back I was resistant to kayaking in general, convinced I would flip over just trying to get in. But hubs works hard and I like him to be able to do activities that help him unwind, and I like being able to spend time with him so ... I sucked it up and picked out a bright green kayak of my very own (his is camo) and a hot pink life vest with the thought that if I ever drifted away, I would be visible at all times.

Hubs likes to fish when we go kayaking, it relaxes him. Me? It stresses me out, plus I'm too grossed out to take the fish off the hook, so hubs has to do it and it's just a bigger ordeal than it should be. So I've started bringing my notebook or printed pages of my MS along, and while he fishes, I float nearby, feeling inspired by the calm of nature, editing, drafting by hand, or jotting ideas for future stories.

You do have to be adequately prepared for this type of writing location. A big plastic bag to house your  paper goods since water gets everywhere while you're paddling, snacks, something to drink, extra sunscreen in case hubs says, "Hey, let's paddle down to that area way over there and see if anything's biting," and you're out on the lake an hour longer than expected, in which case you should bring even more snacks.