(Note: this article also appeared on the wonderful writing resource site writing.ie. Read on...)

Hey! Why aren't you writing?[image error]

The most common response to this question seems to be 'I have no time.' And often we don't. But suppose you do manage get hold of some free hours. You've cleared away the day-job obligations, said no to friends, cut yourself off from the chaos of home life, and now you've got your morning, your evening, your afternoon. It's blank and beautiful, and it belongs only to you. You might be visualising whole chapters taking shape under your hands, a major plotline cleared up, some badly-needed edits set in place. This is going to be fantastic.

Then four hours pass in a haze. What happened, exactly?