I am just back from straddling two worlds–the fictional realm and what appears to be daily reality. I met a major book deadline on Tuesday. Today is Sunday. I still find myself inhabiting an altered state as I come down from the writer’s most seductive high–total immersion in a ‘living’ creative work–and a fiercely demanding and exhausting work schedule.

Over the years, I’ve met my share of deadlines for 5 other published novels and many published nonfiction books. This time, over the course of the project, I thought a lot about pacing, psyching up, intervals, training, recovery–terms often used in sports conditioning and sports psychology.

I’ve discovered some news ways to maintain stamina and flow, and to avoid “hitting the wall”–either physically or mentally. Bottom line, it is a lot more fun when we–as creatives on deadline–can use our own rhythms, moods, emotions, mental and physical tendencies to our advantage.

Wishing you creative flow~