DOING NOTHING: THE BEST MEDICINE

I don't know about you but after a grueling day staring at the blinking cursor (you know the one) sometimes I need to let myself off the hook and simply allow my hard-working soul to control-alt-delete the day. Literally - it's a write-off!

It's hard enough to stay focused sometimes - and harder still to allow for those times when a wandering mind is better than the one sitting at my desk. Why is it we need real excuses to be "granted permission" to goof off?

"My kid is sick and needs to get picked up at school?" - Drop everything!
"The mailman's at the door with a package?" - Hit save!
"The View is on?" - Turn computer OFF.

I think it needs to be OKAY for us to let procrastination be part of the process - and if that means giving ourselves the thumbs-up to go for a walk....or a drive...or a walk through the donut aisle...then gosh darnit - it has to be done! And without guilt. Or the backlash from the task-master part of the brain ready to lash out against any "non-typing" activity.

So pick a procrastination card - any card and let yourself go. It's not only healthy - it might give you a great idea....one that hopefully will involve donuts!

BACK TO WORK - A GOOD THING!

That's our dog, Zeus staring out at the view I got to have for seven incredible days... but that was then and now...

I'm home!

I'll admit - its' nice to be back and if I get to post twice this month I will far exceed my expectations! It's Summer and it's Book Two's turn for my as much of my attention as I can give it. In Maine I was able to sit staring at the ocean and feel the cool morning breezes while turning out pages every day! Every day! I love when that happens, when the book takes more than a few tinny baby steps and begins to show off a little leg!

I am dodging bullets in the way of freelance jobs that threaten to bring my crawling book to a halt. But what can we do? Bills need payin' and I do enjoy to eat a meal now and again.

Hey - how many of you zip over to JacketFlap just to see who was "recently on"? Come on? Fess up. I've now added that click to my frequent Amazon, and Google procrastinating clicks. Try it - it's fun. Easy. And then you can go back to work, I promise! And if you haven't signed up - rush right over now and become part of the publishing network.

Speaking of which - I was just over there on JacketFlap and the blog being highlighted at the moment (how come it's never my blog when I click over?) was David Lubar's "Gadfly in the Ointment". He's so funny and his observations...well, very David Lubar.

Last week he linked to a post that all kid writers MUST read - it's from Kate Messner's blog and it's a real pick-me-up from a 7th grade teacher and writer. Go look!

In related news: I got me a new laptop!!! Yay! The black macbook is my companion for my upcoming LA trip. It's so sleek and fun. Apple you have my heart once again.....