I’ve been off for a while, out of whack. Every writer probably goes through a phase where we get kind of stalled and can’t write. This year has been one of mine. Okay, so you’re totally out of it, you don’t even want to bring up that empty page on your computer. What do you do?

Beginning of this year, I just didn’t do it. I let myself wallow in the dumps. Looking back, I imagine that was probably all that I could do and it didn’t seem like a good idea to torture myself with writing when I could barely get myself to work every day.

Second quarter, will I go into the locker room with some momentum? I try but life gets in the way and I’m preoccupied with family issues. I’m not dead in the water. I’m just not moving as much as I should.

Third quarter, I go for the gold. I go to a writer’s conference and even sign up for an agent review. This was gustsy since I’d been fumbling the ball and should have been finished with my revisions. Unfortunately, I wasn’t because of Mom duties and all. The only other time I took my children’s manuscript out into the public eye had been last fall and that hadn’t been pleasant. But we writers are hearty stock. I go to the SCBWI conference and meet a great agent who has great ideas to help my manuscript. The problem is, I’m still not off the bench. I’ve been staggering through this past year, writing a bit here and there, and I’ve lost my writing-everyday habit. What was I thinking?

First quarter, you dummy, I say to myself. How could you not remember how hard it was to get the habit in the first placc. Writing has always been theraputic for me. I learned that lesson from my music. The act of “creating” has always felt good. Emotionally, it’s akin to that high I used to feel when I would run a couple of miles. I should have forced myself to write.

Second quarter, you  dummy, I say to myself. When are you going to stop letting other people get you off track? I should have forced myself to write.

Third quarter, that’s more like it, almost. I’m not in full swing. I need to establish my routine again. I’ve tried varying my schedule to allow for writing at different times of the day but that hasn’t been working. I’m still not done with the blasted revision of the book. This might be a time when I would set the book aside in the past. With a great agent waiting in the wings, at least I hope she’s still waiting or at least open to my submission, I need to finish.

Here’s a link to a blog I received today. http://cast-light.com/2012/09/22/start-now/  

What more can I say?