She finished the first draft of a 91,000 word novel. That's so exciting!

And she did it by showing up and working on her writing. It seems like showing up, unlike talent or creativity, is the one single thing we writers can control. Strangely enough, I think that showing up is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Storytelling, grammar and mechanics can all be learned. But you've got to dig down deep and make a commitment to your writing if you want to show up at the keyboard.

I put my writing on hold recently, and woe is me. Let's talk about the pros and cons of taking a break from writing.

Start thinking about your writing goals for 2009. Does anyone know of a way for us to post them where we can all see them—a way that's easy to set up and not so likely to be overrun with spam? Shoot me an email at jcp.heat (at) gmail.com and let me know.