A year ago at this time I was between books. I’d finished My Plus One on the 15th of November and started writing  Double Dirty on December 14th. While I did some editing of  Fleet Files and Ginned Up in those interim four weeks, it appears as though I did nothing related to writing from the 18th to the 26th of November.

Nothing.

What was I doing then?

Looking back today, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I bet I was spending time relaxing with my family and doing those things people tend to do around a holiday: nap, watch The Wizard of Oz, go to the grocer for things like condensed sweetened milk and silken tofu (the former for pumpkin pie, the latter for vegan pumpkin pie), and generally slow down.

I am both pleased and surprised that my daily word count over the last five days averages out to 732. (I had my first zero-word day in an age.) I’m  pleased because this paltry average of 732 is reflective of doing all those other holiday-related things; I’m surprised that I’m not feeling disappointed in myself in producing 36% my usual product.

While I have dedicated myself to blogging daily* — even on my “zero day” — it’s not the same as weaving the thread of my 7th story. I’m 34K words in but I need to get back to it in earnest.

Right after the last sixteen minutes of The Wizard of Oz, a long sauna, and a good night’s sleep.

*(I have posted every day since this blog’s inception on 10/25.)