The writing advice I give most often is to just start writing and the words will come. I use this strategy most often during the month of November, when I blog every day for 30 days. I keep going strong for the first couple of days in December…and then I get back into my old routine of blogging only when I feel like it. This is one reason why I like doing The Spin Cycle; even during the weeks with low links, I’m still forced to write!

So why do I force myself to write? One reason is because when I stop, it’s hard to get going again. I have journals with year-long gaps in them. Another reason is that I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I first started journaling in high school and have several journals that are filled with all my hopes and dreams between the covers.

Emmy has been fascinated with my writing lately. She has plucked the first book I contributed to, The Mother of All Meltdowns, off the shelf and has been reading it by herself! (It’s been a while since I read everyone’s stories; I’m crossing my fingers that there’s no swear words in it!) This is another reason I write; to show my daughters that writing is fun and is not just for schoolwork. It seems to be working pretty well. Emmy has written some books about her friends. (In one book, her friend’s husband dies. It’s very sad. Then she gets a cat to replace the husband.) Emmy loves to take out her series of books made from pieces of paper stapled together. We sit on my bed and she reads them to me.

Lily has always loved to write. When she was angry with me, she would disappear into her room and write angry notes about what was upsetting her. I actually encouraged her, because I thought it would help her get her feelings out. When she was four years old, she would write notes telling me or her dad, “I HAT YOU!” We will never let Lily forget those notes! (I saved at least one of them!)

What about Ed? He doesn’t write much, but he’s a good writer when he has to be. He even wrote a guest post this one time. He also reads all my book submissions. He learned grammar from the best teachers in elementary school, so he’s my go-to proofreader!

Just Write a blog post this week, any day, and come back here to link it up! So easy, so simple! Just Write!

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