‘ve been distracted by a coming trip, halfway round the world. Came in to work today thinking of air travel, of winter storms, of all the things yet to get, of packing, of preparation. But it’s Thursday and time for a pre-written version of DOG EAR, crafted weeks before, to pop up.

Logged in to check the update and found there wasn’t any. I’d run out.

I know I have a couple I’ve posted from various coffee shops and eateries, things I thought about and wrote at the moment. Presumably they are all sitting in my in-box, still waiting for addition to this site.

All this came to mind as I looked at my empty update list. I started thinking about letting it go. Then I thought, hey, this is a writers thing, right here.

It happens to writers. No, you don’t always get to stroll the moors and ponder what you will write before sitting behind your desk and carefully scribbling down your thoughts with a quill. Sometimes demands come at you fast.

The night my father passed away – he was in the hospital, the whole family around him. About 2pm, my mom really needed to go home. We left my brother and sister there and I drove mom home. A few hours later we got the call that he had passed. Sad, but pretty much a clean exit. But life goes on. We assembled back at the house, figuring out what needed to be done. “We’re going to need an obituary,” my sister noted. Everyone looked at writer-guy, me.

Okay, I’d been up most the night and suffered a shock. But I was writer guy. This was the thing I did well. Pulled out my tinytop and started working it out. Asked for some dates, knocked out a draft, read it once, read it aloud, took comments, got it done. It was emailed to the paper by noon.

And that’s part of being a writer. On-the-spot corrections, immediate deadlines, city desk stuff. Yes, it’s great to craft out a product. But sometimes you need to get something out quick.

Like this.

>>>TRUST ME, MY NOVELS TOOK YEARS TO PUT TOGETHER AND ARE SMOOTH. CHECK THEM OUT YOURSELF, RIGHT HERE<<<