It’s my birthday but I’m still a writer, teacher and editor. In other words, I’m working. What does the professional writer do when holidays, unexpected events or other occasions threaten to derail the routine?
Writing Tip for Today: I’ve had a longstanding joke with one of my adult children: He continually makes excuses to postpone coming to visit his mom because of some preplanned activity, usually a celebration for one of his friends. I always tell him, “It’s always somebody’s birthday, somewhere.” You don’t put off writing because you have Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day or some other holiday coming up. Maybe you have to sacrifice a little time on both the writing schedule and the event. Write 250 words instead of 500. If you aren’t on deadline or you aren’t an editor, you may be able to rearrange your time to fit in the really important stuff .

• Be creative–edit in the waiting room or write as you wait for soccer practice to be over.
• If you can’t write, read or research.
• Don’t spread yourself too thin, trying to do it all.
• Do what you can, when you can. Give yourself a smaller goal until the pressure’s off.
• Try to remember that circumstances are rarely perfect. If possible, write through the storm, not after it has passed.