Write like the wind, Bullseye!

The true test of a commercial writer is not how consistently he or she writes when things are calm and on an even keel. The true test is how well he or she writes when he's house-hunting and moving in 60 days, or when she is inundated with sprawling, scope-creeping, high-pressure projects at work, or when he is trying to train for a race in two months, or when she is dealing with three teenage children.

As for me, I am struggling to find the hours and the days necessary to meet my budgeted word count on the new book. The manuscript is due September 1, but I keep tossing out chapters, looking for just the right pieces to include and just the right way to include them.

Picture late nights at the kitchen table with microwave popcorn and herb tea. Or early mornings in the rocking chair of the front porch with an Eggbeaters sandwich on double-fiber, double-protein bread with a cup of insanely strong Elvis Presley brand Memphis Mocha coffee.

I have once again reached that delirious state of exhaustion where, without hourly mugs of chai tea, I could easily fall asleep in front of the laptop screen, where sleep lurks just behind the eyes, beckoning like a siren, tugging incessantly at heavy eye lids, slowing and deepening the breathing.

But I am determined to make deadline, so nothing short of dying can steer me from my course. Okay, winning the lottery might steer me from my course. Or an alien invasion. Or an Elvis movie marathon hosted by Quentin Tarrantino with a chance to win the Aloha from Hawaii jumpsuit and cape....