Last week I was reading The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. It’s a best seller with lots of good reviews. And some not so good. Read the not-so-good ones before buying this book. I had borrowed the book from the library because I was interested in the Pressfield’s observations about procrastination and what makes creative folks fight their creativity, sabotaging that internal drive to make art. It’s all about Resistance, he says. If you read the book, you’ll get used to seeing that word over and over: Resistance. Pressfield says he has the answer to all our procrastination problems. Become a pro by acting like a pro. Show up to work every day. Show up at the same time every day, prepared to create. Then create. Okay, I thought. I can do that. The next morning, even though I’d had only one cup of coffee and felt foggy and sleep-deprived, I hurried to my computer and sat down, ready to work. My second cup of coffe...

This post originally appeared at The Blood-Red Pencil on January 26, 2011, and since has been updated. Sadly, much of it still rings true for me! Killer Career's new 2013 cover I published my romantic suspense,  Killer Career , in August, 2009. When I was writing that  manuscript, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a four-day work week, which gave me some, but not a whole lot of free hours to write. With the advent of economic uncertainty, my four-day work week turned into five. I barely had time to market Killer Career, perform my day job, and make attempts to continue my work in progress. I'd try to get pages done while commuting, but as soon as I got into the story, it was time to get off the commuter train.  I also found other reasons for not completing my manuscript, such as books I'd rather read, or friends I'd like to converse with, while riding the train. When I got home, more often than not, I was too wiped out to do anythi...