I said it was simple. I did not say it was easy.

Cross-posted to Substack.

On Threads a little while ago, someone’s post went unintentionally viral—as often happens over there. It was a post bemoaning the “just write” advice as not possible for someone who has a day job, kids, life responsibilities, and other things taking up one’s time. And, while I think the spirit of the thread was lost in the discourse—as often happens over there—writers gave an interesting look into their writing lives and what it means to them to “just write.” So, of course I have to weigh in. But first…

I polled my followers on Instagram asking who was team apple and who was team pumpkin, and MORE PEOPLE VOTED TEAM APPLE. Who even are you people? Can we still be friends?! I had no idea that this was A) a thing people took sides on, and B) that there was even an apple side! Pumpkin forever.

And that is all I have to say about that.

I’ve been physically resting for about five weeks now. I have (self-diagnosed, but more or less textbook) hip bursitis. It flares up every now and again, especially if I try to run too many miles too fast, or if I do a new weight-lifting move that I’m not familiar with and, therefore, mess up.

My hip had been hurting for five weeks, since the beginning of August. When I stand up, sit down, get in and out of my car, go up stairs… it hurt. Running was out of the question, and as you know, there is a really exasperating direct line between my physical activity and my mental health and, consequently, between my mental health and my ability to write.

Thank god I was able to finish a draft of Love Out Loud in the beginning of September, because I have been in a creative dry spell ever since.

In the back of my mind, I knew that my hip was flaring up because I was out of shape, which is a weird thing to say for someone who regularly runs several miles at a time. But it isn’t enough to ONLY run, especially at my age. You have to supplement with strength work or you’re going to eventually be in trouble. And I was not doing that with any consistency.

For weeks, I hemmed and hawed about what to do. The only thing was, I knew what to do. I needed to get myself into physical therapy, or I needed to start doing some of the PT exercises I knew would help at home. The last time I had an injury like this, I turned to a 30-day barre program that strengthened the surrounding muscles and completely healed the injury. (Probably because most of those moves are also ones used in PT because they’re good for you. Go figure.) Not only that, but it helped my posture, my confidence, made me a faster runner, and my pants fit better. But I had moved away from it because I get bored easily, and it’s really hard to keep up a program that expects you to work out every single day.

And yet, I thought maybe rest could do it. It’s easier to just rest, after all—even for someone like me who has to be constantly doing something. I filled the time I would have been running with other things, like making cute social media posts or reading or spending time with my friends and family. I started knitting and sewing again! See? I can find things that are good for my mental health that also involve sitting on the couch.

And yet, see my previous statement about the creative dry spell. I even went so far as to go on Threads and bemoan the fact that I don’t feel funny or cute anymore; cute being an internal AND external thing, as my pants no longer fit the way I want them to, either. (Let me pause here to say that I try to practice body neutrality. Sometimes loving it is too much, but I can always accept the way it is. That said, I can also acknowledge when I would prefer to feel better in my skin without it being a moral failing. And this was one of those times.)

Eventually, enough was enough. I said to myself, “I know what I need to do, and I need to JUST DO IT.” So, like Lorcan, I did. The program had moved to a new site since I last did it, so I re-purchased it, downloaded the calendar, and started. 30 days. I can do this for 30 days, right?

Well, three days in and I am pain-free. Like… completely. Which is really ANNOYING because the advice to just get the program and do it worked. Not only did it work, but it worked quickly. And now I have to keep doing it.

While I do think the advice to “just write” is difficult for people to fathom—especially while juggling jobs and kids and spouses and lives—it is equally annoying, because it works. I’ve been doing this writing thing for a while (I started writing blogs in my 20s!), and it’s actually, maybe, the ONLY thing that works. You just have to want it more than you want anything else. Which doesn’t mean that you have to live like a hermit in a cave with a typewriter and no access to the outside world and prioritize writing over all else forever and ever, (I actually suggest not doing this, as it makes finding things to write about extremely difficult) but it does mean that you have to carve out and protect the time to do it. If you keep finding other things to do in its place, it’ll never get done. And then, when it is done, you get to take a break and focus on other things. That is, until you have to come back and do it again.

Probably the second most popular question I get asked (after “When will Mike get a book?”) is how I have time for it all. How do I write the books, edit my books and others’, sign and send books from my shop, do social media, write this newsletter every week… all on top of teaching, parenting, and generally living my life?

And the answer is: I just do. Sometimes, I lose sleep because I’m up late doing stuff. Sometimes, I miss out on things with my kids because of a deadline or a particularly sticky plot point. Sometimes, I squeeze in a ten-minute session to get something checked off the to-do list while I’m boiling pasta water for dinner. On some magical days, the stars align and everything flows and I feel super great about everything. On others, everything is sh*t and I contemplate quitting. And sometimes, realistically, I just… don’t. Sometimes, it doesn’t all get done. That’s ok, too. I’m only human. But writing is essential to me. I can’t just quit. I wouldn’t be happy if I did. So, I have to just do it.

I’m so sorry to inform you that this annoyingly simple advice does, actually, work. In order to write the book, you have to just write the book.

But! The good news is that this works for anyone. If you want to write a book, all you have to do is write a book. I won’t say it’s easy, because it’s not. But it really is that simple.

I got the cover drafts back from Lorissa for Love Out Loud and y’all are not ready for this gorgeousness. She somehow managed to capture these childhood friends and their joy. It’s one of those covers I can almost hear, and I love it so much already.

The Common Grounds audiobook is in production! I’ll give more updates soon, but I am SO excited to hear Emery and Trevor and have them brought to life for you. Eek!!

Signed copies of my books are still on sale in my shop! Grab them before they sell out!

There will be several giveaways of Common Grounds for National Coffee Day, too, so keep an eye out for those!

Ambar Cordova’s new book, A Trail Often Crossed, is out in the world!! You’ll definitely want to check it out!

In this spicy sports romance, a woman has to face her attraction to the new man in town, who happens to be her newest rival.

Everything she touches dies.

Roe has always been a trailblazer. From a very young age, she learned that life has its own twists and turns, and the only way of making it out the other side is on your own. When she starts motocross racing, she thinks her biggest challenge will be making it to nationals, until she meets her newest rival.

Everything he wants is out of reach.

Santiago grew up as the caregiver, the glue to his family, especially after the loss that changed his life. He is everyone’s rock but has always felt like something is missing. When Roe unexpectedly barges into his life, she blurs all his carefully constructed lines. But he can’t protect her if she keeps pushing him away.

Roe and Santiago might be rivals, but the undeniable spark between them is hard to ignore. Can they make it to the finish line with their hearts in one piece?

Buy it here!

What other things does this annoyingly simple advice apply to? Just read your book. Just eat your vegetables. Just buy that pumpkin spice latte. I have a love/hate relationship with the simplicity of getting things done. How about you?

Happy reading,
Allie