To my surprise I learned today that Ramón would be heading off to his D&D game today (since they started meeting in person again this has stopped being a weekly thing and now depends on the other players’ schedules).

So did I tear through the house like a Tasmanian Devil cleaning everything? Did I crank out 3K on Crystal Blade? Did I at least put the cross bars that have fallen off two of the back yard fence sections back up?

No. I went out to coffee with my editor like a civilized woman of a certain age, then came home and finished a jewelry commission (faceted golden rutilated quartz in a marquise cut, and I got to build my first double gallery and V prongs for it). Which turned out wonderfully. I’m very happy with that because I was sure I’d accidentally melt something or have a prong fall off.

Look, sometimes I need to step away from the computer and cross-train my creative side on something completely different. Kristine Kathryn Rusch just did a brilliant blog post about this very topic, and I agree with all of it. Making jewelry, quilts, or other crafts keeps me fresh and helps me with my writing, believe it or not. I’ve tried going cold turkey and doing nothing but writing before, and you know what happened? I would up with a massive case of writer’s block. Crafting is literally part of my writing process now because it acts as a space where I can mull over things while my hands are busy.

And if I can sell the results of those mulling sessions? Even better.