As you might have guessed from the title and my lack of blogging lately, I've been sick. Very sick. I had the flu with a high fever which finally morphed into a sinus infection. I was in the ER this week with it, but am finally starting to feel better. I have a voice again and I can swallow liquids (and medication!) again.

Being a writer means you're self-employed and as anyone who has been self-employed knows work doesn't stop just because you're coughing your lungs out or are hallucinating because of your fever. It should, but it often can't. I think that's one of the craziest things about this business. A lot of things come to a screeching halt (like blogging, social networking, chores, errands, taking care of home or family, etc.) But the writing goes on. There's a revision in the works of one of my books but thankfully it's one of the ones I'm writing with Nancy Holder so she was able to take the first pass at revision while I was at my sickest. There was new stuff, though, that had to get written if I expect to reach my four upcoming deadlines for this year.

But here's the amazing part. When you're sick as a dog it's hard to drag yourself to your computer or pick up pen and paper because, let's face it, you'd rather be drooling on the couch watching any movie you can stream from Netflix. But if you can get yourself to that computer or grasp that pen something unexpected happens.

You write some incredible stuff.

I know, it seems crazy, but hear me out. When you're sick, particularly with a fever, it alters the chemistry in your brain a bit. It helps quiet your inner critic and free your creative side to just be and dream and create. Usually to get to this blessed state of existence where I can write 10,000+ words of my best stuff I have to stay up late and sleep deprive myself until the overly logical, critical part of my brain gives up and goes to sleep allowing the rest of me to just go with the flow.

So now that the fever has passed and I'm reading over everything I've written in the past two weeks I'm extremely proud. It's some of my best work. Do I recommend pushing yourself and working when your doctors tell you to be resting? NO!!! But when you're that sick and you have to write, some amazing things can come out of it. And even if you do the right thing and stay on that couch drinking as much water as humanly possible at least try thinking about your story. You might find some unique solutions to plot problems, character difficulties, or general writer's block that you might not otherwise.

Now, here's hoping I'll be truly back in the land of the healthy next week. Because I'm looking around and realize just how many other things have totally slipped through the cracks.