Thanks mostly to my conversations on
this blog, I recently picked up a job writing copy for a redesigned website. I
have 11 pages in all to write, and minutes ago I finished page 6.

Three
of the pages are linked and should be written together, and I’m committed to
getting those done before bed. I’ll probably be at this until midnight or so —
definitely past my bedtime.

This
commitment to pushing through a true writing wall is new to me. When I am
writing fiction for myself, I’ll stop for any reason. I’ll rarely force a story
through to the end. My mind wanders; chocolate calls; I see the sudoku book by
my bedside…. I have a thousand excuses.

But
as a newly
established professional writer, I have to fight those urges to give
up. We’re not talking about my words. I’m writing someone else’s words,
and they’re paying me to do so. I have a commitment to give them the 11 pages
tomorrow, and when I get through these three, I’ll have two to wrestle with in
the morning.

I’d best get back to
writing.