Ladies, what's with these time stamps? 1:21, 2:15, 3:28?!! Don't any of you sleep?

Orly I love what your husband said—read it to my husband (when we got up sat 5 a.m., a scant hour-and-a-half after Laura's comment!) and he laughed out loud.

I once heard best-selling author Hank Phillipi Ryan, who is also a newscaster, speak about writing as a job and I "got it" in a whole new way. She said her job starts at on camera at 6 p.m. She can't show up at 6:10 and say "Sorry, I just wasn't feeling it today." She'd be fired! She says that writing was your choice of job but that you must take it just as seriously. Bingo.

Teri, nice to see you here! I've heard women who say that they were sure that their cancerous cells were filled with stress—I've known many who made big life changes in similar circumstances, when reminded of how fleeting and precious are their hours. Which is ironic, considering how long it can take to get published in book-length fiction! Yet all those hours of writing have benefits of their own, and the investment is in something that will outlast our temporary stay on earth.

Good luck on your revisions, and many blessings as you send your ms back out into the world. And I will add to my bulletin board a privately understood addition: "Leap—and flick." Thanks for that! 🙂

Thanks for your absolution, Jenny. 😉

Orly, so that means you're starting that new book today, then, right?
The Cheerleader.

Laurie, I'm fortunate to have a husband who sat me down when I started triple-guessing myself and said, "If you want this to be your job, treat it like your job. Make it your priority every day." When I get comments from neighbors or family about "Why are you so busy or stressed or tired or whatever," my husband smirks and responds with "she has a lot - A LOT - of people to take care of everyday." 🙂

I suppose, at the end of the day, what people say is only a reflection of them and their life experiences, not you or yours.