Summertime - and the writing is -

I am one of those people who need pressure to function. I need deadlines to force me to write on a punishing schedule. I need the threat of embarrassment to keep me in line.

So, here I am, taking a break from a session of nearly 20 pages of writing on a manuscript that I am going to be taking with me to the New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart In A Book conference in October.

I signed up, pre-registered for my hotel and now I'm sweating, well, getting the book done, certainly, but also pitching, my wardrobe, and handling personal responsibilities that go along with heading away from home for 3 days.

But what I've noticed is that the camraderie, the excitement of pushing myself to be ready to pitch, to have my MS ready in the event anyone asks for it and to be prepared to make the most of the event, both meeting people, making contacts, and learning a bit more about the business - well, it is exhilarating.

What is it that moves you? What motivates you to write? What gets you over the writer's block hump, the drearies, past the pain that everyday life tends to dole out, usually just as we are approaching a pinnacle that requires our best efforts?

I heard from a friend who said that she had not been able to write since her father had passed away. How can you fight that? How can you convince yourself that something that seems, in the scheme of things, so frivolous, really deserves your attentions and focus and energies?

Hard to say.

Except, what I wanted to say to my friend but didn't have in mind yet, was that your Father would want you to move on. He wouldnt' want you to dwell on your sadness or wallow in your sorrow. He would want you to laugh at his jokes, remember his smiles and his hugs and remind yourself of the wisdom he'd shared, the comfort he'd offered and the example he provided. The example of how to be a good person, a productive person, to take what life dishes out and shoulder the burdens but never, never, give up your dreams.

Never stop smiling. Never stop moving.

Never stop dreaming.

For everyone who has lost someone, or is dealing with impending loss, or sorrow of a more nebulous kind. For everyone dealing with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that pemeate our days.

Carpe diem, my friends.

It's all we can do, after all.