Zero!

(That’s the answer to the headline, in case you were wondering. Sorry … I didn’t give you a chance to guess.)

Zero is the sum of words I’ve written in “The Mountain of Dempsey Molehill” this month.

You’d think I would use a sad face or ellipsis behind that zero instead of an exclamation point. Writing nothing for three weeks isn’t exactly something to gloat about.

But there’s a silver lining to the periods when writers aren’t writing.

After being away from writing for 20+ days, my desire to hit the keyboard is re-energized. The time between writing sessions is a good time to stockpile ideas, and I’ve got a notebook full by this point. (Although a good chunk of them are ideas for new writing projects that I want to tackle …)

The down side is I’m behind schedule on meeting a couple of deadlines, so I need to use that excitement to make up some ground in the coming three weeks.