I have resistance. The question is, ‘Does resistance have me?’

I’ve got 23 days left in which to write my latest book: the final one in the Blue Panda trilogy. And I won’t.

It’s not that I can’t, it’s that part of me simply won’t.

It’s known as resistance and it’s a bitch.

It will lose in the end, of course. As a former radio and TV journalist used to tight deadlines, not to mention the author of 20 other published books – two of which had to be written in less than three months total, I’ll get my head down just in time and work flat out to meet the deadline. Which is 8th September.

How to get round resistance? The world expert on that is Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art which is probably the Bible of all writers. If you’re a writer or a potential writer, read it.

Basically, the answer is simple: 1, Give yourself a day off; complete permission not to write the book … that annoys resistance a lot … and 2, Just bloody well write! That’s why I’m writing this blog – so that my resistance remembers that, whatever it wants to do about it, I am a writer. Just because I won’t write that book doesn’t mean that it gets away without writing. Resistance is in me, but it doesn’t have me. It isn’t driving the bus.

And, as I write, I remember why I love writing so much; I find I am enjoying myself and inspiring myself. And, heck, I might even stick my nose into chapter fifteen just for a moment. Just to look at it, you undestand, not to actually do anything with it.

And as I write, I sense the Muse showing up, just a courtesy call; she won’t settle into me again until I’ve shut the door, wrapped that figurative wet towel around my head, played six games of Freecell, checked Facebook until even my resistance is bored with the same stories in the feed, updated my tunes on Spotify, downloaded another App, and got going.

And then she and I will be in love again; that incredible one-to-one synchronistic love that flows the ideas and the words and never, ever wants to stop.

I am so looking forward to that.