Every since I was young, I’ve had a little clicking gear in my head that gets tighter and tighter, clicking louder and louder whenever I don’t have something to write.

As a kid, that was taken care of with a notebook. As a grown woman, that is taken care of with a novel. It’s slightly neurotic, I’ll give you that, but it’s also highly effective to keep me writing. When I say I want to write five books a year, that’s a little inaccurate. I need to. If I don’t keep writing, that little gear in my head starts to click forward. I feel like an addict when I email my editor pleading for a go ahead on a manuscript, and planning for ways to fill my time until I get one.

Heaven forbid I be left alone without a plot to guide my thoughts!

I’ve been running free of deadlines for a few days now, and I’ve taken time to read, hung out with friends, and generally behaved like a normal and balanced human being. It’s a good exercise–like research for my characters. But painful–I won’t lie. 😉 Today was Day 6 without a deadline, and two things happened:

1. I went to the ladies’ Bible study this morning at our church, which I don’t normally have time for because of the way it slots into my work day. It was nice. It’s good to reconnect with the women in my community.
2. My editor sent me the revision letter for my latest manuscript.

The gear stopped clicking and I had to physically stop myself from signing my return email with a heart. ❤

I have something to work on–something with a deadline–and that just does me good.