Staying Up Late

I'm not a morning person, but I still get up and get going while it's still dark out. If it was up to me, I'd be a night owl. So, much to my doctor's dismay, I have decided sleep is over-rated. Besides, I must balance my passion for writing, with my other responsibilities. My son comes first, so until he's asleep, writing has to wait. Oops, my wife has a list of priorities too. So, when it's time for me to sit down and pound that keyboard, it's usually pretty late. If I get on a roll, I lose all track of time.

I recently had a good friend ask about how I write and how I find the time? It's a discipline, but it's also my passion, so I make the time. It does mean that other things don't get done when they should, but that's the trade-off. How I write is for another blog.

Michael, my agent, says I'm prolific. I like that. I write as an obsession. As I'm working on my blogs, I'm organizing the progress I've made so far this week. I have two finished novels that are awaiting my quality control editor's radar eyes. I have 2 more novels that are in draft form and need my scrutinizing. I have 4 novels that are 80% complete, 3 novels that are 50% written and 8 more novels in outline or research stage. There's no such thing as writer's block for me.

I answer email as soon as I can, work on blogs, check my son's homework, and a myriad of other things too. I love it. I just wish I didn't have any bills to pay.

I have a few fans (they are the people who have read just about everything I've written) who correspond with me on a weekly basis. They're the word-of-mouth engines that lead to improving sales and more name recognition. Anyway, I really love hearing from them and look forward to sharing email or cell phone calls. Still, I wish I could dedicate more time to them.

Next week I'm reading a chapter aloud from Secret of the Dragon's Eye to a 5th Grade class at a nearby elementary school. Now talk about exciting. That's another reason I love to write. Those kids hang on every word. They ask really awesome, thought-provoking questions, and they really like my dragon. If it was up to me, I'd visit a school every day, read a chapter and hopefully get them excited about writing and reading.

Okay, back to work. I want to get my main character into some kind of situation that doesn't look promising. It was 4:00 am when I stopped, but when I looked at the clock, I decided that I could skip the remaining 2 hours. Brew a pot of coffee, see my son off to school, wave as my wife heads off to work, and then sit back down at the computer.

To some of you, I bet that sounds like drudgery. To others, it sounds just right. To me, it's just the way it has to be.