I’m going on a self-imposed internet hiatus until the New Year, ignoring emails, postings and blissfully disconnecting. It’s good for the soul.

One anecdote I wanted to share, though. The other day I was speaking with a writer friend. They said they could produce 10,000 words a day. I was shocked, jealous, but I believed them. They touch type a bazillion words a minute and have a laser focus I admire.

But they don’t write that much…I mean, they CAN obviously write a lot, at 10,000 words a day, but their output doesn’t come close to the three million words plus they’re capable of over a year…not even a microscopic fraction of that.

So I got to thinking about output.

I strive to hit between 750 and 1,000 words a day. I’m human—so I don’t always get there. Life intrudes. Always. You can set you clock by it.

But here’s what I believe to be one of the earmarks of a professional writer. It’s not being able to write 10,000 words in a single day (although that would be nice!). Heck, it’s not even writing 1,000 words every day.

It’s being able to write 400 words on a day when you really, really don’t want to write.

Keeping your momentum, your interest, and your brain thinking about a story…man, without that, I’d never have finished anything, ever.

So until next year, have a happy and safe holiday season. I’ll see you in 2009.