Time and Tide

It took me two hours last night to write ONE paragraph. But, damn, it was a good one.

And I wanted to tell someone.

So here I am.

Yes, yes, I obviously dropped the ball on the whole blogging thing. But I haven't stopped writing. In fact, in the last 5 months, I've done lots of writing. I've drafted some incredible emails, and penned a few fantastic thank-you notes. I re-wrote a chapter in Book 2, and put Book 1 on a strict diet (which I am happy to report has resulted in a 30% weight loss, so far). I also started dozens of blog posts. Most of them never got any farther than the germ stage, though a few made it to scraps of paper that traveled around in my pockets until they were reduced to pulp in the wash.

So what happened? How come only a handful reached the Drafts folder, and none achieved the victory of the Publish button?

Reason #1: Time.

I don't know about yours, but mine is limited. And I seem to run out of it quite often. And as a writer, you'd think writing would come quickly and easily for me, but it does not (see: the 2-hour paragraph). And if I've only got an hour to write, I have to decide where that hour will be best spent. Which brings us to...

Reason #2: Product.

What do I most want people to be reading: my books or my rantings about loose shopping carts in parking lots, dogs that eat flash drives, and a gun culture that begins with Super Soakers and Nerf Blasters then proceeds right into Laser Tag, Cub Scout Shooting Ranges and Full-Combat-Gear Paintball?

Sure I've got other things to say, but most of the time, I just want to work on my book! (Ask my husband and kids if they've ever heard me say that before. Eyes will roll like you've never seen.) And since all those publishing people are always saying, Write the best book you can. That's what I'm going to do.

But I'll try to write a little faster. And I'll try to remember to empty my pockets before I toss my pants in the machine. There might be something in there worth blogging about.