So I’ve been working on my novel again.

Again? you ask. And you’d be right to call me out.

See, what happens is I get sidetracked. By life. Life is very distracting, as I’m sure you’re aware.

And then I have to COME BACK to my book. Coming Back, I’ve learned, is much more difficult than it should be.

I’ve talked this over with a few writer friends, and we all agree. It’s much easier to simply STAY IN the project. Staying In—working a little bit every day or so, even for a little bit—is much easier than taking a break and having to get yourself back into the story.

For non-writers, maybe that sounds strange. I wrote the story, so how could I ever be…outside of the story?

I guess it has to do with the voice of the book, and who’s telling the story. When I’m writing or editing my book, I’m thinking from the perspective of my characters. Primarily one character or, in the case of The Black Hour, two main characters. But of course the rest of the day, I’m operating from my own perspective. As much as I sometimes borrow from my own life when I write, my protagonists have totally different perspectives from mine.

If I spend too many hours outside of those characters, I’m back to being Lori. Three, six, twenty days later I open up my novel file—oops, I’ve forgotten how to be these people.

I used to think that the advice to write every day was all about word count and progress. But now I think it’s about much more, about continuity, about keeping your head in the game long enough to create that continuous dream we all strive for.

As with most of these posts, this is advice for myself first and foremost: Stop dropping out of your story. Stay in, and make things easier on yourself. You, Lori. I’m talking to you.