Just Do It.

That phrase is from an old 80's Nike commercial, if I'm not mistaken. But I think it's a perfect phrase to apply to the writing process.

You can have all the brilliant ideas in the world, but if you don't sit down and start typing, they'll never have life. They'll never be given a chance to breathe, to be seen.

So. Here I sit on a peaceful Saturday morning, after a particularly challenging work week (being ill didn't help). I have a self-imposed goal of sending out my novel re-writes to the agent on Monday. This Monday. 2 days away. I'm close. Very close. Still, there are temptations all around - watching the 100 t.v. shows stored in my DVR, catching up on much-needed sleep, reading a book, playing on Facebook. Not to mention the 100 essays I should probably be grading right now. But, these re-writes are important to me and I want to finish them.

Today, I issue a challenge for you and for me. If there's a piece of writing you've been working on, if there's an idea germinating in your head, if there's a self-imposed deadline you've been avoiding for awhile: Just Do It. Turn off the phones and the t.v., log off of Facebook, ignore the piled-up laundry and the stacked-up bills for one afternoon - and get to work! :-)