Hiatus

(You deserve a break today)

I'm taking a break. I guess they also call it a hiatus. In April, I participated in Robert Lee Brewer's Platform Challenge. (NOTE--If you do not follow Robert's blog, I highly recommend you do.) 

I did the thirty challenges. Well, for the most part. I still haven't done a guest blog or interviewed an expert, but I defined myself, upgraded my blog and Facebook pages, learned a few Twitter tricks, and made lots of new friends who also completed the challenge. Then, my mind shut down. I'm serious. It shut down.

I could blame it on the fact that we are really busy at work, I came home from Florida and attended a dear friend's very emotional funeral, in the midst of tackling major yard work, my body's battery needs to be recharged, or a combination of the above. Either way, I decided to stop, drop, and roll. No...wait. That's not right. Stop, look, and listen? Whatever. Anyway, I stopped everything I was doing, and chose one primary task. WRITING.

With only four weeks to complete my novel, A Clover Key's first draft before my 50th birthday, I am knee-deep in the climax and last third of the manuscript. I can't seem to get my head out of the world I created, and quite frankly, I'm enjoying it.

So for the next month, my blog posts and my social media presence will be sporadic. I'm sure I'll need to come up for air every one in a while, and write about whatever is on my mind. Like this:

Top Ten Reasons To Give Up Writing

10. You'll have more room on your bookshelf without all the market guides and 'how-to-write' books.

9.  You'll no longer see your family and friends cringe when you ask them to read your manuscripts.

8.  You can use your pocket recorder for grocery lists and parking locations.

7.  You can take all the notebooks and pencils out of your car, purse, nightstand, and bathroom.

6.  You can read a novel for its story and not dissect it for style, point of view, and voice.

5.  You can have a normal conversation with people without zoning out when a story idea comes to mind.

4.  You can read a magazine and not feel the need to Google the submission guidelines.

3. You can shower in peace and throw away the bathtub crayons you use to jot ideas on your tile.

2. You're more likely to get a full night's sleep without having your characters wake you in the middle of the night to tell you what happens next.

And the number 1 reason to give up writing:

Eating two-handed food, like fried chicken, will be easier without a pencil in your hand.

So---please be patient with me, because I refuse to give up writing. I'll be back soon.

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