The only easy day was yesterday

No matter how much I love writing, some days I can really relate to this quote.

“The writing process for some books is the equivalent of hitting ourselves in the head with a sledgehammer over and over and over. Being a romance author is not unlike being a Navy Seal. The only easy day was yesterday.”  -Suzanne Brockmann

Each part of the writing process has its own challenges and rewards. Some writers find the first draft the most enjoyable and inspiration-filled time, while others find that the revising and editing is where they love storytelling the most. For me, the latter is where the real creative breakthroughs happen. The ones that inspire me to keep on writing, where the little bits of dialogue and character interaction and setting details start to come together to make the story about something more powerful and engaging than the original draft, where everything comes alive.

Regardless of where I’m at in the creation process, filling a blank document with more than 80,000 words can be challenging, to say the least. Turning those words into an entertaining story seems impossible when I’m first staring at a blank document. Each and every time I get to the end and re-read a finished manuscript, I am still amazed that I did what I set out to do. I took the spark of an idea and turned it into characters who feel like real people to me, men who are experiencing the ups and downs of life while falling in love.

It’s such a rush to be a writer of fiction!

But yeah, the only easy day was yesterday. Because when I get to the end of a manuscript, I’m often left wondering...how the hell did I do that? And can I do it again?

All I can say to myself is that I’ll find out. I have every intention of taking the ride once more.

Get the sledgehammer out because I’m going again!


Sloan Parker has been writing and playing with fictional characters for years, but she finally found her true passion when she began telling stories about two men (or more) falling in love. Now she spends her writing life creating m/m erotic romances and romantic suspense. She loves to explore the lives of people who are growing as individuals while falling in love. Her greatest moments in life are spent with her family, her friends, and her characters. www.sloanparker.com   

How Not to Write

I don’t get writers block very often. Usually it’s a brief (or a bit longer) pause of not knowing how to describe something. As someone who outlines, I usually know where I’m going with a story. Even if that story unfolds differently than I planned, the outline always gives me a goal to write toward for each scene.

When moments of being seriously blocked happen, I try to push on through and get some ideas down so I can move on to the next part of the story where I won’t be as blocked. I can always revise later (I revise like crazy anyway), but at least I’m moving forward.

However, there are times when my creativity is blocked so badly when I’m writing an outline or a first draft that I’m staring at the blank page in terror. In those moments, I find it’s important to have a plan.

Sloan’s 20 Steps to Dealing with Writer’s Block (Do not try this at home):

1) Grab some SUGAR! Nothing gets me hyper like sugar. Hyper Sloan can type faster. Even if the words make no sense, at least I feel a sense of accomplishment as my fingers fly over the keyboard.

2) When my fingers slow again, take a break and browse Tumblr. Some of my followers post the best stuff for inspiration. But that usually leads me to writing a sex scene and I’m not often blocked when writing sex. Time to get back to the scene I want to write.

3) Have more sugar.

4) Browse Twitter. Oh, look there’s a great picture of two guys driving down the road on motorcycles, both in tuxes.

5) Start brainstorming a new story about a couple of newlyweds.

6) Damn, this is not the time for a new story. Must focus on something else.

7) Look around the house at the 56 unfinished projects I never seem to find time to complete (like that envelope of photos that need to go into an album, that pile of clothes to sort through and take in for donation, and the huge stack of papers that need filed). Pick up one of the projects that looks most appealing.

8) Five minutes later, stop working on said project once I remember why I never finished it in the first place. Writing is more fun. Even if I’m blocked.

9) Okay, more sugar and back to the story.

10) Try interviewing my characters. “What’s on your mind? What are you feeling right now? What do you want to do? What do you wish I’d write about for you?”

11) Tell them to shut the hell up when all they answer with is SEX. This is not the right time for them to have sex. Or I probably wouldn’t be blocked. Sheesh.

12) Browse through my outline for an upcoming scene that will spark my creativity and get me excited to write this story again.

13) Throw the outline across the room when my inner critique tries to tell me I suck.

14) Open my email and read a couple of the lovely messages I've received from readers who’ve enjoyed my work. Remind myself: it’s not just me that I’m writing this story for. (THANK YOU, readers!!)

15) Open the document and stare at the blank page again. Talk about pressure!

16) More sugar.

17) Pet the cat. This calms me down after too much sugar.

18) Fall into a heavy sugar-induced sleep.

19) Wake up and start again.

20) Repeat as needed.

Thank God I have more “good” writing days than “bad” ones. The bad days are exhausting.

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com

Flash fiction

One of my friends writes Flash Fiction -- check out Flash Fiction Online for awesome examples of what I'm talking about.

Agog at the brilliance of her mind, I declared I could never write that short. The shorter the piece, the more challenging for me. Seriously, my natural length is a multi-volume epic saga. After a bit of reflecting, I realized I do write flash fiction. I call it blogging. :)

Have you recently discovered any hereto unsuspected talents?

The Writer's Life

There are so many roadblocks, pitfalls and challenges to creating a book. First, we need an idea, plot, characters. Then we need to form them into some sort of logical progression. After that, it’s edits and rewrites and more edits, and somewhere in between we have to create a query that makes our book sound enticing in two paragraphs and a synopsis that summarizes the story from start to finish in a couple of pages. If anyone tells me they like writing a synopsis, I’ll assume they’re lying through their teeth.

This doesn’t take into account the distractions of a day job (which many of us have) and the obligations and pleasures of family and friends. Carving out time to do the writing is sometimes as much of a challenge as actually writing the book.

All those challenges take place in the comfort of your own home. Once you let your baby out into the big, bad world, there’s rejection, revise & resubmit letters, contract assessment, edits and more edits (when you’d already thought your baby was PERFECT). After publication, you worry whether you’re going to sell anything. Are you doing enough promotion or too much? What if no one reviews your book? Worse, what if they give you a bad review? What if everyone hates it? (Yes, many of us are this neurotic.) There are also pirates and plagiarists to worry about. Life as a writer is fraught with worry, and then you need to worry… can I do it again? Can I go through that all again for the next book?

Clearly, though, my cat thinks I do not struggle or suffer enough and has taken it upon herself to add just that little bit more…

Don’t get me wrong, the joy of creating something from nothing makes up for a lot of pain. Knowing complete strangers can read your words and feel moved is what keeps so many of chipping away at those roadblocks. Thank you, to all the readers out there who help make it worthwhile for us.

KC Burn

Gender bias

From time to time I run across acrid commentary about women writing male male romance or straight men writing gay love stories, or the arrogance of men writing romance between a man and woman.

Seriously? Why on earth would anyone think one gender had a great claim to expertise in writing craft as applied to any particular genre?

History offers many example of women being discriminated against. Here's where I get really confused. I would have guessed our own history of oppression, prejudice, and discrimination would have made women more sensitive and less tolerant to this kind of injustice. Reading commentary written by women, vilifying men who dare to think they can capture romance on the page, dismays me.

Are those women railing against male authored romance unaware of D.H. Laurence, T.S. Eliot, Leo Tolstoy, and William Shakespeare?

Practicing gender bias makes no sense. Thankfully the vast majority of readers are too smart to be bothered by an author's gender or sexual orientation or race or any other irrelevant label.

Right? Uh, you all aren't prejudiced against men writing romance are you?

Contrary Muses

Here I am slaving away with the story just starting to really hum and Swampy, aka my itinerant muse, wanders in blathering on about an entirely new story. This is not the first time he's done this.

I'm a reasonable woman, I can tell he's enthused, which is a very good thing. Swampy continues to rattle on and I dutifully made notes. When he finally pauses, I say,"Thank you I've got it all down in a new file. Now can we please get back to work?"

Swampy starts in again on the new hero, who does sound great, as if I hadn't spoken.

Fine, I turn up the tunes, let him inspire the air.

Motivation for When Writing (Or Life) Takes the Hard Way

The other day I was having a difficult time with my writing. The words just weren’t flowing, every sentence was a struggle, and I was seriously lacking in motivation. Perfect timing, though, since I had to run a few errands. I had an excuse to avoid my computer. Then when I was driving home, a favorite song came on my iPod that really got me fired up to get back to work. Even when writing is hard (and not in a good way), there’s little else I’d rather spend my time doing. I just needed the reminder that I’m in control of my own writing career and the stories I’m telling. It’s all up to me to get the words out.

I took a few minutes that day to create a playlist of songs for the next time I find myself avoiding the work of writing, for whenever I let a “bad” review get under my skin, or I just need a boost of confidence. These songs never fail to give me a little motivational kick. They get me excited to sit my butt back at my desk and get to work, even when it’s hard. They inspire me to do the best I can with every story, every chapter, every sentence.

Here are a few of my favorites that made it into my motivational playlist:

Eye of the Tiger



It's My Life


Beautiful Day



I Will Survive


What songs motivate you to do your best work (no matter what the task), to lift your spirits even when your life isn’t going as smoothly as you’d like?

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com

Real Life Messes Up Plans

Have I whined enough about the pain of interruptions and switching hats?

Probably. But I'm still feelin' it so I'm gonna whine some more. I want to write, just write. While I recognize all these other things need to be done, like housework, laundry, shopping, and errands they aren't nearly as much fun as writing and I do them as little as possible.

 



 

No doubt you noticed that gardening, walking the dog, and reading are not on my avoidance list. The reason is simple those are things I like to do, sometimes even more than I like to write, especially when the writing is not flowing smoothly.

Ah but when the words are flowing smoothly, writing is the world's best job.

What's interfering with your plans?

The Eleventh Hour Ice Prince, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Serendipity

Hi, I'm Jessica Freely, and my new release, The Ice Prince, wasn't always The Ice Prince.

It was originally entitled Out of the Box, which went great with the story I thought I was going to write when I proposed it in June. You know how these things go. You do a little research and you find out that your fabulous idea for how to solve a story problem just isn't going to work, and then you come up with something new and the story goes in a different direction than you'd planned.

Out of the Box was like that. When I zigged, it zagged, and as a result, I did a lot of work on it in the revision phase. In fact, at one-thirty in the morning of the day it was due, I rewrote a crucial scene and finally achieved the sense of emotional catharsis I'd been aiming for all along. Talk about bringing it in under the wire.

I won't spoil things by telling you which scene it was, but I will say that once I wrote it, it became obvious to me what the title of the book should be.

The Ice Prince is just out from Loose Id today:
http://www.loose-id.com/The-Ice-Prince.aspx

Below is a never-posted-before excerpt from The Ice Prince. But first, you might also like to know that I have a free ficlet about the main characters, David and Seth, entitled Raspberry Chocolate-Chip Scones, available exclusively on my newsletter group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jessicafreely


Blurb:
Together David and Seth have forged a life full of love, friendship, and scorching hot sex. But secrets from David's past could turn it all into a frozen wasteland unless he can break his habit of silence. The Ice Prince is a sequel to Hero and Rust Belt.

Excerpt:
Haverstock Bookshop was dead. All morning long, not a single customer entered the store. As the minutes ticked by, David fancied he could hear the money for the shop’s overhead -- the heating, the electricity, hell, his salary -- trickling down the drain. He surfed the Internet, looking at Web sites for other small independent bookstores, hoping to glean some pearl of wisdom that would enable him to save this place. It wasn’t much help. A lot of the sites were antiquated, even by his standards, and several were defunct.

“This is too depressing,” he muttered and exited the browser.

He felt like he needed to move around, so he started cleaning. While dusting, he found a loose shelf in the romance section. He went into the back room to find a hammer and nails.

It was Mr. Haverstock’s day off. David's footsteps scuffed on the concrete as he walked down the aisle between the tall metal shelves, trying to remember where he'd last seen the toolbox. He found it resting on an empty box near the hinged steel door that opened onto their loading dock.

He opened the toolbox. There was a box of nails and one of screws, and a screwdriver and a wrench, but no hammer. Huh.

David went back to Mr. Haverstock's office. He searched the file cabinet and the coffee area without success and then went to the desk. He opened the top drawer but only found a hodgepodge of pens and pencils, erasers, a ruler. No hammer. He tried the next drawer. Ledgers and notebooks. The third one held, inexplicably, a coffee can full of old matchbooks. He pulled open the final drawer, one of those deep ones made to double as a file cabinet. Inside sat a brown paper bag with a bundle of cloth in it. No hammer.

"This is pointless," he muttered. "He must have taken it home for something, I'll just fix the shelf tomorrow." But then, just as he was about to shut the drawer, something in the bag caught his eye. The gleam of metal.

He put his hand on the bundle of cloth. It was red. Thick red wool. He lifted it out of the bag and unfolded it. It was a letter jacket for Finney High. The metal he'd seen was from a pin. A little tack pin with a crest and the words Class of 1956. It sat on the breast of the jacket, just above the letter, which was for track. On the other breast, the name Carl was stitched in cursive writing.

Finney was where David had gone to school and his parents before him, as well as, evidently, Mr. Haverstock. Wow. The thought of Carl Haverstock running track boggled his mind. But he'd been a teenager once too. Huh.

So why did he have his jacket stashed in a grocery bag in his desk drawer? Why wasn't it at home in his closet, protected by mothballs?

That was none of his business. David was suddenly aware he was going through Mr. Haverstock's stuff like a snoop. Never mind he hadn't started with that intention. He was snooping now. And snoops always got what they deserved. They found out stuff they didn't want to know. In a hurry, David folded the jacket to put it back in the bag.

And froze.

Scaramouche stared up at him from the bottom of the bag.

Or more precisely, the image of Scaramouche looked up at him, darkly handsome, hand-painted, and visible through a cutout in the finely tooled leather of his father's collector's edition of the Sabatini novel of the same name. Feeling as if he were floating above his body, watching, not controlling events at all, David reached in and took the book out.

The other two were there as well. The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood. All fine-quality collector's editions over fifty years old and handed down to David from his dad. The books David had given Mr. Haverstock to sell in order to pay for Seth's lawyer.

He hadn't sold them.

Here you come again

I just thought it would make a good blog title, but now I've got that damn Dolly Parton song stuck in my head.

I finished yet another crap first draft about midnight last night (see earlier LI post on my embracing my ugly inner artist) which makes two novellas in about a week and a half. Now I have to go back and flesh in the not-so-lovely bones of one of my earlier literary monsterpieces.

I staggered in to view email this mornng -- already disgruntled to find I'm out of V8-Fusion -- and I saw that I have a blog due yet again. And four sets of edits.

I have no idea what to talk about this morning. Other than the fact that I desperately want this year to be over.

Coincidentally this week I received a questionaire from another publisher asking about blogs. What blogs do I read, what blog topics do I enjoy, blah, blah, blog.

I increasingly think that blogs as a whole may be past their prime. I've been saying that for two years, of course, so I could be wrong. Another publisher sent an invitation to a course in learning Twitter...and I can't make up my mind about that one either, although it certainly seems less time consuming.

So I think I'll leave ths post to be answered by readers -- and if no readers respond, well, fellow writers, I think we may have our answer.

Readers...

1 - Do you read publisher blogs?

2 - What blogs, if any, do you read?

3 - What topics interest you?

4 - What topics don't interest you?

5 - How would you like to interact with writers and publishers if not through blogs?

6 - Any other thoughts about blogs?

7 - Any other thoughts not about blogs?

Writing When the Muse Is Asleep

The other day a writing friend told me about a workshop at the National Romance Writers of America conference that provided a list of ways writers can continue writing even when the muse is asleep. It included things like writing longhand, chewing gum, taking a shower, or doing something else with water like washing dishes.

I don’t know all the details from the workshop on why these sorts of activities work, but this really hit home with me. I’ve found three things helpful when I’m stuck with a scene: writing longhand, taking a shower, and driving in my car with the radio blaring. Only one of which is actually conducive to the task of writing down any ideas that develop.

Just the other day I was stuck on the climactic scene of my new project, and I spent several hours working through the frustration, completing other work tasks, catching up on email, and reading a book on the craft of writing. Nothing was coming to me. I could not seem to figure out how to get the heroes into their biggest trouble and then how to get them out of it. I had the ending of the book planned (the romantic resolution), but I could not get the suspense storyline to come together.

I decided I’d hop on my bike for a nice ride then hit the shower. Three minutes into the shower and I was inundated with ideas, snippets of dialogue, even additional scenes for the middle part of the book. It turned into the fastest shower ever. I had to get to a piece of paper and a pen. I ran through the house, dripping water everywhere, snatching up a notebook and pen, then sat on the edge of the bathtub writing for about a half hour.

This is not the first time this has happened to me (you’d think I’d remember to take a notepad into the bathroom, but I rarely do). I’ve even mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook a few times before. I’ve written some of the best stuff wearing nothing but a towel (and sometimes less). A long soak in the bathtub is the best place for me to edit a scene that’s giving me fits.

I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve heard other writers say they also get their best ideas in the shower. You’d think more corporations would latch on to this concept and install boardroom showers. Hmmm…interesting idea there.

This got me to wondering why this (and other changes in scenery or activity) work so well on overcoming writer’s block. Is it because the activity relaxes you and eases the tension of not producing? Is it the feel or sound of water that opens up part of the brain responsible for creative thought? Does music do the same? A quick search produced several studies identifying that chewing gum can improve concentration. Maybe water, music, and driving do the same.

What do you think? Is there a benefit creatively to activities like writing longhand, chewing gum, taking a shower, or washing dishes? Or is it all in my head?

In any case, it works for me. I guess I should just invest in a waterproof digital voice recorder and save the rest of my pennies for the water bill.

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com

Ode to an Editor

Okay, it's not really an ode. It's not even a sonnet. But it is heartfelt.

I think aspiring writers are sometimes curious about what it's like working with editors. I don't mean betas or CPs or copyeditors, I mean real live content editors. Exalted (if overworked) creatures who know enough about books and writing and literature to partner with writers and help them to be the best that they can be.

Working with editors is one of the perks of being professionally published. Finding the right editor is one of the most important creative relationships you'll form in your writing life.

That and finding the right tax accountant.

Ha! I jest. (But not entirely.)

Anyway, back to finding and working with editors.

I was reminded recently of how important it is to find that right match of skills and chemistry as I was working on a manuscript for Carina Press and Angela James. It's been a while since I worked with an editor that was entirely new to me. Angie bought my manuscript Fair Game based on a proposal I'd sent her. When the time came to write the book I was suddenly, for the first time in a long time, struck with insecurity. Angie and I haven't worked together a lot. What if she ended up not really even liking this book? What if I couldn't deliver what she wanted?

Gulp.

I had a sort of similar experience last year working with Nicole Kimberling of Blind Eye Books. Nikki did pretty much the same thing: bought a book based on a proposal. Now, Nikki and I are friends, so I knew that she was very familiar with my work and my style and my voice, but she was also having to guide me through a genre I'm not familiar with...spec fiction. Fantasy. And again there was this pressure of...what if I can't deliver the goods?

What if I...fail?

Cue the thunder claps!

Now let me cut to the chase here. Both Angie and Nikki were terrific to work with. These are two projects I feel proud of -- which is important. To me, anyway. And I think this is true for most writers. It might sound weird, but when you work in the arts -- any art, I suspect -- it's not just about making money. Not that I have any objection to making money. But it's impossible not to invest a lot of yourself in a creative project such as a book or a piece of music or a painting. That's why it's not as easy to be objective about criticism as it is in ye old day job. If I turn in a report and the math is wrong, well hell. I need to fix that. And it could be embarrassing, but it's not...personal. If you see what I mean.

So finding the right editor is a kind of validation, too. This person "gets" it. Eureka.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to content editors, I've been incredibly lucky in my writing career. And, regardless of what the uninformed may think or say, the attention my ebooks and small press books have received from editors like Angie, Nikki, and let us not forget Sasha Knight (AKA Ms. Eagle Eye) at Samhain has been consistent with any mainstream publisher I've worked with. (Better in some cases!)




Which finally brings me to Judi David, my editor at Loose Id.

Judi was the first editor I worked with in the m/m romance genre. Loose Id was the first ebook publisher I signed with and, frankly, I was a nervous wreck. I expected...well, I didn't know what to expect. And, I can tell you right now, that if things had gone a different way -- if Judi had been a different kind of person or a different kind of editor -- I would not currently be the household name I am.

Yes, I am a household name. Didn't you know that? My household name is Honey-what-the-hell-is-THIS-on-your-computer???

It's a name I share with a select few of you.*g*

Back to Judi who knows what I'm trying to say half the time before I've worked it out for myself. By now we've figured out a sort of shorthand, and I can turn in a very rough draft and she can read between all those lines that aren't there. That's what I call providing back up.

Nowdays there aren't a lot of hearts and flowers in the edits, but if I do the neurotic author thing, she knows what to say -- and it's always the right thing.

And it helps that she gets my humor.

And it helps that she's read a few books that aren't romance novels.

And it helps that she speaks up when we're in an area that isn't her area of expertise.

Turning in a first draft, a rough draft, is sort of like getting naked for the first time with someone. And even when it's an editor you've worked with before, there's an element of anxiety. You need to be able to trust that this person is going to tell you the truth, but also that she or he can look beyond their subjective tastes to the needs of the book, the audience, the market, the publisher -- that this editor is going to work with you to make the best possible book, but that it's still going to be your book, your story told in your voice.

You need to know that this person likes your work.

Do Judi and I always see eye to eye? No. But I trust her. So when we don't see eye to eye, I'm not afraid to let go of the side of the pool and swim out to the deep end. I know she'll throw me that life preserver if I really do need it.

So thank you, Judi. By the time each book releases, I'm usually too tired to mention it, but I appreciate all you do to make me a better writer -- and a happier writer because of it.

Letter to a Reader

I get a fair bit of fanmail.

Not so much that I can't keep up with it, but enough to let me know that my work is being read and discussed and appreciated. That's validation for a writer. Sure, we all want, need, and appreciate reviews, but there's something about a reader taking the time and trouble to personally contact you that is different.

For one thing, the reader is risking something. Possible rejection. Suppose the writer is offended? Or just...well, ignores the letter? For another thing, the reader has nothing to gain. There is no audience to be impressed by the reviewer's way with words or clever insights. There is no one to fill in the silences. It's a private conversation. Taking the time to personally write a letter to an author whose work you enjoy takes effort. It's like going that little extra step of sending a small gift to your hostess after a wonderful weekend stay. It's kind and it's generous and it's gracious.

So I thought I'd address some of the comments that typically pop up in letters from readers.


Dear Gentle Reader,

No need to apologize for "disturbing" or "bothering" me. I don't want you to think that I'm sitting here shooting paperclips across the room, but I'm never too busy to hear from you. The day that I am too busy to hear from you, my dear reader, is the day I hang up my quill pen and ink well.

I do not think you are being "too forward" by approaching me or offering your thoughts on my stories. To be honest, I always find your thoughts interesting. Yes, you do sometimes get it wrong, but so (apparently) do I!

(That's where you chuckle, dear gentle reader, 'cos I'm teasing you.)

I often say that we writers write for ourselves, but we publish for others. It's my pleasure to share these stories with you -- I'm glad you're reading my work and that it's moved you enough to want to talk to me about it. And I mean that whether you liked the story or had some problems with it. I'm not going to pretend that I'm going to change the stories I write just to please you, but I am genuinely interested in what worked or didn't work for you. No, I'm not going to be mad at you because you write to tell me you didn't understand something or something bothered you or saddened you.

By the way, dear reader, it's okay to gush. Almost every single one of you apologizes at some point for "gushing." I have a feeling we authors define gushing differently from you readers.

Dictionary definition of gush: to express oneself extravagantly or emotionally; talk effusively: I LOVE your work!

You know, just as you had to work your nerve up to write me, so it takes me effort to put my work out there for others to read. Writers, like everyone else in this world, get a lot more rejection than they do gushing praise. Even after we convince an agent or a publisher to take a risk on us, we still have to win over reviewers and booksellers and...you.

So it's nice -- really, really nice -- to hear that you liked my work. And you don't have to qualify that because I know my work isn't perfect (only too well) and that everyone doesn't love me all the time. Sometimes the best medicine in the world is simply to hear what I'm doing right.

Don't apologize. Really. I think I speak for all writers when I say feel free to gush.




Finally, dear reader, you don't have to apologize for liking the books you like. I don't care that you're a middleaged married woman or a seventy year old man in the midwest or a college kid in England. I'm not judging you, and if I was judging you, how harsh a judge could I be when I'm the one writing the stories you're enjoying so much? I'm writing for myself, remember? I'm writing the kinds of stories I would love to read, so apologizing for liking my work is really not necessary. In fact, you're...er, making me laugh nervously because if you're uncomfortable, what should I be feeling for writing this stuff?

Anyway, that's it, dear reader. Thank you again for writing. For going to that little bit of extra bother, for taking the trouble to say something positive and encouraging to me when you could probably use an encouraging, friendly word yourself. It's funny the way your letters always seem to come when I need them the most. You're very good about that -- and it's one reason I keep publishing my stories.

Yours sincerely,
Josh

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

Yeah, not really. But that's the point of today's blog.

I've been going through a period of...let's call it spiritual ennui.

Basically, I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not writing. I mean, that shouldn't be a problem because I'm almost always writing, but today I woke up, stared at the shadows on the ceiling and realized it was a problem.

It's spring, after all. Time for the juices to start flowing again. (I know, I know, you don't want to hear about my juices anymore than I want to hear about yours.) These days I have two speeds: writing and blah.

Oh yes, I am WAY fun to be around.

But instead of the usual analyzing why I feel whatever it is I am feeling, I thought I'd do a little practical magic and focus on five things that are good about this morning.

And if you have five things you feel good about -- or one thing -- feel free to share it.

1 - Despite the time change, working at home means I don't have to get up in the dark (something I intensely dislike). If I get up in the dark, it's a choice. I like having choice.

2 - Crackling Oat Bran. I just discovered it and it's really good!

3 - The pine trees out my east office window have grown so tall that they block all the neighboring houses, so it's like looking through a forest -- very calming.

4 - A had wonderful dreams last night. I don't remember my dreams like I used to, but last night's was good -- not coherent, if you know what I mean, but good. In fact, I've been thinking I should try keeping a dream journal. I used to get a lot of my ideas for stories from dreams.

5 - I feel healthy again. I've been sick for a few days, and it's very good to feel better again. It's easy to think you have problems until you get sick -- and then you realize what problems really are. Not that there's anything drastically wrong with me, but it's easy to take health and being pain free for granted, isn't it? So it's useful to have the occasional reminder that it's worth while taking care of yourself.

So that's it. That's the five thoughts I have in mind this morning as I begin the daily ritual of promo (a little) and writing (a lot). It's good to focus on the positive because the negative seems to have a chain energy effect, and I think if you can stop one or two of those blackhearted dominos from clicking over, you can break the cycle.

Anyway, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.