I’m plotting a new novel. It’s the early days, where the possibilities are vast and I find myself smiling as I mull over the what-ifs. I can’t see a single deadline or rewrite from here.

This is the fun, carefree part of the writing life, when I’m not worried about my story. I know those angst-filled days will come. They always do.

What if I was able to somehow measure how many days I spent having fun as a writer versus how many days I spent worrying? What if there were some balancing scale that allowed me to weigh one against the other … which would be more: the hours of fun or the hours of worry?

As a writer, I have good days and I have bad days. Some times the tough days run together and become a bad week. The plot snarls. The words won’t come. The brilliant scene falls flat. Inevitably, I utter the words, “I can’t do this.”

That’s when I have to remember that I’ve been here before. When I’m fighting with a story that’s stuck, I’m not failing … I’m writing. Here’s what I mean by that: Wrestling with an unruly story is all part of the process. Sometimes I keep wrestling … and sometimes the best thing to do is  to figure out how to inject some fun back into the game.

• I abandon my computer and take a walk around the block and mull over my story.
• I let the imaginary characters talk to me if they want to.
• I Face Time with my mentor and talk, laugh, pray.
• I jump ahead in my manuscript and write a different scene, a fun scene — one I feel ready to tackle — for a writing change of pace.
• I read a good book and just savor the writing — no comparison allowed.
• I connect with other writing friends and ask about their projects or cheer on their success.
• I spend time with the real people in my life: watching football, cooking dinner together, reading books with my GRANDgirls.

Fun. Fun. Fun.

How are you doing balancing the worries of the writing life with having fun?