I’m here, but not really. See you later.

There are millions folded into trillions of reasons I love being a creative type. I love the way the Muse nudges me to my writing desk, even at inopportune times, I love the feeling of looking at the clock and realizing I’ve been lost in my work for four hours, I love reading back over things I’ve written in the past and thinking “Hey! I’m pretty good at this!”

But what I don’t love are the dry spells. I wish more than anything I could tell you that I have a steamer trunk full of ideas that I keep in the corner of my brain and, like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, it is never empty. But the truth is, sometimes I’m just out. Out of ideas, out of steam, I have nothing worthwhile to say and I’m not one of those people who thinks that just because you don’t have anything to say doesn’t mean you should be quiet. Most of the time anyway.

It’s hard, as a creative person, to admit that some days it’s just not there. And when you, like I do, have a blog and a podcast that help keep your name in front of people and brand you as a writer, those sticky, dark, non-creative days feel almost dangerous, like a cracked and dripping alleyway that you know is a shortcut home but you also know could get you cut to ribbons.

Trying to force creativity doesn’t work either, as most artists will tell you. The days I didn’t want to write but forced myself to sit in front of my laptop anyway were the days I belligerently played Candy Crush and put up Expensive French Style Decorating Ideas I Will Never Be Able to Afford and 45,000 Calorie Cake Recipes on Pinterest and did no writing at all. That’ll show me who’s boss around here.

And that, I think, pretty much catches you up on why I didn’t write a blog post all last week, nor did I record a podcast. This writer’s block, creative slump, whatever it is, will shift soon. It always does. In the meantime, here’s an awesome review for my debut novel: http://ow.ly/pM77a. Or you can always just scroll down and take another peek at Danny Blue Eyes. Either way, enjoy and I’ll see you back here later in the week.