I remember when the 1st edition of my travel guide first came out, one of the most frequent questions others asked was “how did you do it?”  I laughed because I knew what they meant: “What did it take to write a whole book?”  Many were writers themselves and they wondered what it would take for them to write a book-length manuscript.  I laughed because I knew that in the 9 months I had to write the manuscript, I tried everything I could to avoid actually having to sit down and write it.  I tried reading about writing, talking about writing, making writing schedules and worrying about writing.

In the end, it came down to the same, single fact:  in order to finish the book, I was going to have to sit in my chair and write it.  Not finishing it wasn’t an option, this was my dream after all, and that meant I had to plow through and do something I had never, ever done before – write almost 90,000 words for a single book.

I did it.  Night after night, after working an eight-hour day and spending time with my husband and little boys, I sat in my office chair and wrote the book, one word at a time.  It was the most exciting and frightening experience I ever had.  But, I finished it.

So, now as I find myself once again working on another book, this time the 2nd (and almost completely re-written) edition of my travel guide, I catch myself trying to avoid the inevitable: writing.  But, today, after much hand-wringing, I finally sat down to write the first chapter.  For two hours, I put one word in front of the other until the string of words turned into a coherent thought (we’ll worry about editing after the writing part is done).  And you know what, it felt fantastic!  I remembered why I loved writing so much and tomorrow, I’ll sit down and do it again.  Because, the only way to write a book is to…well…write it.

So, (you, writer) sit down and write! If you sit in the chair often enough eventually you’ll have your book.  Don’t worry, you’re in good company. ;)