Because you are so prolific, how much time do you actually spend writing and do you have periods where you get writer's block and simply cannot do any more?
I don’t like to call it writer’s block, because I think writer’s block is the purview of people who don’t need to pay the rent with money made from writing.
When I have difficulty finding my voice on a particular day, I don’t tend to get up and walk away from it. What I do, unfortunately, is I check my email several thousand times.
I do keep at it until I am forced by the constraints of time to surrender for the day. I do tend to work hours that are much like any other job. I tend to work from 8.30am to 5.30pm and then, if I am behind on a deadline (which seems to happen far too often of late) I will work on the weekend or at night as well to try to catch up.
It’s a time-consuming process. Deadlines do not go away, and there are frequently days where, by three o’clock or even earlier, I’ll say, "Gee, I’ll just take the rest of the day off." Then I think, "What if I could get four or five pages done between now and the time I would normally have quit. At least that’s something."
