You’ve heard the term “perfect storm,” right?

Just so we’re all on the same page, let me define it for you: a perfect storm is a particularly bad or critical state of affairs, arising from a number of negative and unpredictable factors. (Emphasis mine.)

Another definition for a “perfect storm”? My life. (Again, emphasis mine.)

You all are laughing now, right? Well, chuckle away while I describe the perfect storm gathering around my writer’s life:

• I meet one deadline … and immediately face another one. Living the dream, people. Living the dream.
• I develop an ache in my shoulder, which I ignore because, really, there’s no reason my arm should be aching. I mean, it’s just another ache to go with my aching (post surgery) back and my aching (post fall) ankle … but the ache gets more intense. And did I mention that it’s on my right side? My writing arm/hand?
• I burn the proverbial candle at both ends — and try to figure out how to borrow someone else’s “candle” so I can meet my second deadline because I’ve already “adjusted” this deadline once. (Adjusted is a nice word for talking with my agent and saying “I am not going to meet this suggested deadline.” Thankfully, my agent and editor agree with me.)
• I take time off from writing my novella to
  •  write back cover copy
  • do second round edits on my novel
  • write my regularly scheduled blogs
  •  wave at my family
  • continue to ignore my house.
• I lose a day and a half  to a migraine.
• I travel to a writers retreat in Monterey — which, yes, is fun. And I tell myself I will write while I’m gone. And I don’t. Not a word.
• I come home from Monterey — and promptly get sick. Very sick. No writing. Not. A. Single. Word. For four days.
• Finally, I am writing again.
• And on my fridge is a jury summons. By the time this blog post goes live, I will know whether that part of the storm has blown past me or not. ( I did get “the call.”)

These are just some of the elements of my “perfect storm,” also known as my writer’s life. I don’t have the time or the word count to tell you every last detail of my life these past few months — and that’s not the point of this blog post anyway.

The point is this: We are writers. When we are on deadline, we write when we are sick. We write when we are tired. Some days it all comes crashing down on us and we crawl in to bed and say “Tomorrow … or maybe the day after that.”

But we figure out a way to make it work. We figure out how not to quit. I have a very understanding husband and family who don’t expect a whole lot of me when I’m on deadline. I also have friends who pray for me and bring me little gifts of encouragement — like Sonic Cherry Limeades and Hot Tamales — when I’m on deadline. That’s how I make it work.

What about you? How do you battle the storm?