We've reached the moment. 

I'm finishing and handing in my book on August 9th. That's the day. It's 11 days away from now. Why the 9th, a random Wednesday more than a year-and-half after I'd hoped to complete my fourth novel?

It's because that's the day my agent is back from vacation. And sometimes you just need a hard deadline. And, if I do it, then I can maybe have a few days off before I begin major revisions, and then, you know, school starts. I'm a teacher, actually. That's my main job.

I'm trying to make writing fun again, but today it's a struggle. Everything is just a little bit harder than it should be. 

Here are 5 fun things? To try?:

1. The Barbie movie was so fun and excellent and loudly subversive and one of my highlights of the summer.
2. The people in my family do funny parodies of the song at the end of The Lorax. The one that goes, "Let it grow."
3. Bagels. But, I'm out of cream cheese. But peanut butter is good, too.
4. I ordered a funny t-shirt (it's a long story, but it says "mid runner," and I bought it to apologize for a dumb slip of the tongue I made at track practice that the kids won't let go). The kids liked it and laughed.
5. My book is going to be done. Done, but not perfect, on August 9th.