I wrote a little bit in the morning yesterday. I'm working on a new book, and starting to dig into my characters -- always my favorite part of writing. I had a day off of my paying job (as a magazine editor), and could have spent the whole workday writing. But I didn't.

Instead, I played a game with my youngest son. He loves a game called Warhammer. It's actually more of a hobby than just a game -- it involves building, painting and playing games with small, plastic models. So I wrote a bit in the morning, and then took him out to a store were Warhammer gamers gather to play on these huge boards set up for battles. It takes a long time to play a typical game -- yesterday's took us more than three hours, and it wasn't a big game.

The point of this is that I gave up a healthy slice of writing time to spend time with my son. My desire, as is typically the case, was to do more writing. But ultimately, the day was much better spent with my boy, even if the novel had to suffer for it. In the end, it's a matter of priorities. If I don't prioritize my family, I think my regret will far outweigh any satisfaction gained by cranking out a new book that much more quickly.

My wife and kids like the fact that I'm engaging in this new career, even though it will likely always be part-time. They encourage me to keep at it. But if I lose sight of what's important to them -- the time I spend with them -- then I've failed, even if I became a best-selling author. It's not an easy thing; I write it as if the decision is as simple as blinking. The reality, though, is that writers tend to think about writing an awful lot, even when they're not writing, and many of us who can't do it full time (which is most of us) wish we could spend a lot more time writing. I know I do.

I did the right thing, though, yesterday. Less writing, more time with my son. Yes, it was a good day.