You Can't Spell 'Success' Without 'U SUC' (Brian Katcher)

Well, if you're like me, you've been hunkered down in your house, catching up on your streaming, writing, and housework. And desperately, desperately wishing you could visit your family and go...anywhere.

I'm at one of those rare times in my life when I have unlimited time to write. My school district was kind enough to keep all employees working and paid, and so when I'm not doing distance learning, I have time to create.

So what do I write? I mean, I just finished the final draft of one book, and the first draft of another. So how do I pluck a plot from the air?

Hell if I know. But comparing my past successes with my past pathetic failures, here are some good rules of thumb:

1) If you're not excited about your plot, no one else will be. Just because you think it might sell, doesn't mean you should write it.

2) Don't let time get away from you. I write the most when I'm fighting a deadline. It's when I have loads of time that I get lazy and put things off.

3) Finally, have fun with it. You used to do this for free. Don't let the stress of writing for pay take the fun out of it.

And remember, things could be a lot worse. We're going to get through all this.