I am a woman of strong will. Even with this knowledge I realized that will be damned when it comes to the Holidays. Throughout the past year, which I had ample time to reflect upon during my red-eye plane-changing trip from Los Angeles to South Carolina, the will to write and the will to abstain from any distractions (that might impinge upon the party of the first will) held strong and steady.

These are the things that happen when you are faced with writing an outline:

• The sink in your bathroom starts spitting up murky, brackish water and you spend many valuable writing hours pouring toxic chemicals into the drain hole while wondering if you’re somehow poisoning yourself, even though you are wearing yellow Playtex gloves the entire time and brushing your teeth in the kitchen sink, just in case.

Always be closing. It’s not just for real estate salesmen. It’s for writers like me. Writers who are so close to finishing their books, they can physically taste it, see it in the bookstore window, feel the smooth cover when they sign a copy. Perhaps even one day in the near future, look back on this post and say, “Remember when?”