I just typed THE END on my twelfth book. Or is it the thirteenth? I don't know because I'm too busy writing the next one to stop and count what I've done. I didn't break out a bottle of champagne. There were no confetti parades or big balloon drops. There wasn't anything magical about it except for the satisfaction of finishing yet another project.

The truth is, folks, that writing isn't magic. It's work.

Granted, there are sometimes when the words flow and it's all mystical and dreamy. You feel like you're one with the muse and you can conquer the world with your pen.

But that doesn't happen very often. Most of the time writing a chapter is about as exciting as vacuuming up the dog hair on the carpet or hauling out the trash. If you're under a deadline, it's just something that needs to be done every day.

Magic is capricious and elusive. You can't expect to produce much writing if you only write when you feel the magic. But take heart . . . just because you feel like you're having a bad writing day doesn't mean your writing is necessarily bad -- just like if you think you're having a good writing day doesn't guarantee your writing is stellar. The main thing is to write, whether you feel like it or not.