I profess writing every day, no exceptions. And in August, I technically kept my word: I wrote everyday. But the writing I did can't be confused with progress. Sometimes life gets in the way.

If I am reasonable, I have to admit there are some events that, since they only occur once in life, you have to shuffle your priorities. This summer was rife with a number of such once-in-a-lifetime events, but August was the Devil incarnate. After the annual sacrifice of the majority of July to the Tour, August brought The Olympics followed directly by the DNC and now the RNC. Thank heavens the latter is nigh unwatchable, but things are destined to heat up when McCain...who am I kidding. Regardless of my feelings about the RNC, I owe it to myself as a thinking American to listen intently to as much as I can tolerate as it is undeniably historic.

So what does a writer do at times like these? All we can do is to do our best to keep the momentum going, keep our self-talk positive, churn out something, read about writing during the commercials or over a short lunch. We can waste as little time in other areas of our lives to allow for more writing time. And don't forget all the preparation we can achieve in our heads while we're driving to and from errands or, in my case, riding or exercising. As I log miles on my bike or on the treadmill, instead of listening to my favorite music or thinking about every pedal stroke or step after step, I'm solving the multitude of problems that arise during the writing of a piece.