A lot of would-be authors, and even some published authors, mistakenly believe that writing a story is muse-driven.  They cannot write unless the muse is upon them, pouring forth with their creativity, and shutting out the world for a time, almost as if they've received a vision from On High like a prophet of God.

While we would all love to write in such a way, there are times when you stare at the flashing cursor on the blank screen for hours.  There are times when you literally write a line or two and sit there to think about what to do next.  There are times when you actually avoid your project because you just don't know where to go or what comes next.

But what a lot of authors don't realize is that writing is a j-o-b.  If you want to  make any money at this gig, you've got to EARN your income.  You can't wait for the miraculous muse to sprinkle her manna from heaven.  Sometimes, you've just got to sit down and make yourself write!

Write…what?

ANYTHING!

For me, to break through my writer's block, I need to loosen my fingers along with my imagination.  The way I do this is to decide whose point of view the new scene is in and jump in.  Begin with their thoughts of what happened the chapter before.  Move the plot forward with some internal conflict.  Get into their head.  Once I do that, I find that the floodgates open and I can write again.

But sitting down and just doing it takes discipline.  I avoided my current project for a few days because of this problem of not knowing where to go next.  The main plot of the book was finished, I only have some wrap up to do.  But it's the end of the book that can sometimes lull for an author.  Either they love the book too much to let it end, or the excitement of the plot is over and tying things together with a pretty bow can be a chore.

Today, I decided to just sit down and write.  See where it took me.  What transpired was, perhaps, the most tender and pivotal love scene in the book.  They'd already *said* their I love yous earlier on, however, what I wrote was a scene where they "showed" their love for each other in soft caresses and sweet sighs, with no words to speak of.

I challenged myself to make it different, as after you've written X amount of books, you begin to have a pattern to your writing style.  I didn't want it to be a throw-away love scene that you could cut and paste into any of my other books.  And what it became was probably my favorite scene from the book.

You never know where "just sit down and write" will take you.  But everyone on the planet has only 24 hours a day.  Some of us struggle to find the time to write, while others have loads of time on their hands.  But one thing's for sure.  The successful authors are the ones who just sat down and wrote, regardless if the TV was on, regardless if the kids were playing, regardless if the DH is home.  True, we all have responsibilities to take care of, but when those are all said and done, anything less than just sitting down and writing is an excuse NOT to write.

Nine times out of ten, we'll NEVER get that coveted time alone, that quiet time, where we can pour forth our muse.

And let's face it — even if you DO get that quiet time…how many of you are playing online rather than writing?  **raises hand**  Oh, I'm guilty of that, believe me.

But there comes a point in every writer's life where they have to suck it up and just DO IT!  Perhaps, like me, you'll find yourself writing the most inspiring scene of your book. 

~~Becka