As a rule, I try to write 300-500 words a day. That doesn’t include anything I write for this blog or others I contribute to from time to time. It definitely doesn’t include anything I write at work – Nothing is more hostile to good writing than applying the Army writing manual. And it absolutely doesn’t include texts, emails, or other sneaky ways you can easily get into that range. As with most things that I actually enjoy doing, the biggest issue is figuring out when the hell I actually have time to sit down and focus on just one thing at a time. That’s not a complaint, just a statement of fact.

The reality is, I might actually hit that goal once or twice during the week if I’m lucky. Weekends are a little easier to manage. Usually after letting the dogs out and getting them fed, I can settle in for an hour or two early on Saturday and SUnday mornings and punch out about 1000 words without too much trouble. Mornings seem to be best for me. I’ve gone back and reread things I’ve written in the hour before bed the next morning and let’s just say it’s not my best work. Not even close. Back when I was a history major, I wrote my best stuff after midnight. A decade’s worth of crawling out of bed to the 5AM alarm seems to have brought that to an end once and for all. I don’t really mind that so much, though, as long as some point in the day is still a good time for it.

Picking up aluminum cans on the side of the road would probably be a more lucrative use of time, but something keeps me coming back to the keyboard day after day. As soon as I figure out why that is, I’ll probably have found my best seller.