Every writer struggles at one point or another with plot glitches, mid-book sag, or general story problems or inconsistencies. I’m not sure how everyone deals with these issues, but I know how I do. I must get away from the desk. Here are my top five places to go and work out the kinks, the wrinkles, and the blank pages. Ranked in reverse order. 5–Writer’s conference: This is actually a great place to help any writer struggling with a story; it’s only ranked last because it’s hit-or-miss that you’ll be having a plot problem with a conference right around the corner. A conference is a great place to stir creative juices. 4–Coffee shop: When I first started writing, a coffee shop was my go-to place to scribble out a story sketch. The shop where I lived at the time had great coffee and the perfect atmosphere to sit with pen and paper. (That’s how I plot; the computer comes later.) Unfortunately, I’ve not found a coffee shop that suits me as well as that first one did. 3–Dog walks: I have two Labs, Abbie and Tilly, and we walk three miles every morning. I love this time, early in the…

I’ve been published for ten years, and in those ten years, on average, I put out about ten books a year of varying lengths. Because of my output, and the consistency of my output over time, one of the most common questions that I get is: How do you do it all? I’m afraid that my answer is not the one most people are looking for. I don’t have a magic bullet, or a golden ticket, or a secret key. Well, that’s not true, I do. It’s just that it isn’t an easy trick. The key to producing a lot of work? Just writing. That’s it! But for that to be helpful a writer has to be honest with themselves. They have to realize that writing is not: perusing the internet, tweeting, Facebooking, texting, talking about writing, researching, blogging, going out to fancy lunches, or even having industry-related phone calls and video chats and meetings. Those things might all be part of a writing career, to a greater or lesser degree depending on your path, but they are not writing. Even if I have to do those things, they cannot take priority over my writing, or my writing goals for…