Staring out my studio window instead of allowing my fingers to fly over the keyboard. Sometimes I get so caught up in what's out there that I can't concentrate on what's in here - my head. Writing is a strange way to spend one's time I think... it's daydreaming on paper... it's fantasizing and romanticizing and denying. But it can also be fulfilling and thrilling.

It's particularly nice when a week goes by without a rejection letter from an agent or a publisher. It doesn't discourage me. I just start another writing project to move my mind away from the disappointment.

There IS balance though. I'll get an email informing me that a story was accepted somewhere and give myself the pat on the back I deserve for that victory. I also have "fans" who can't wait for the next unedited chapter of something I'm writing - that's a thrill too.

I know that some day I will have fans that will stand in line to have me sign their copy of my latest mystery novel. Then I won't have the time to spend staring out of my studio window... Gee. I think I will miss that.

Slow down fingers!