1. When I can’t stop laughing at something I just wrote.
2. When the dialogue actually flows and sounds realistic on the first attempt.
3. When my critique partner sends me a chat message to share some awesome plot ideas she’s working on and we both get even more jazzed about the story (the hard part is waiting to read it).
4. When I hit that moment where I’m so far in the zone with this story and the characters’ lives that any past criticisms or reviews (especially the overly “positive” and “negative”) are gone from my head and all that’s left is the current journey and where I’m taking these men.
5. When I re-read a part I hadn’t read in a few weeks and I’m so blown away by the intensity of the emotions and what’s going on that I can’t stop reading even though I know what’s going to happen next.
6. When I re-read a part I hadn’t read in a few weeks and I’m surprised by the writing. “I wrote that? When? Was I half asleep?”
7. When I re-read a scene I think is pretty solid plot-wise and I come up with an addition or twist I hadn’t even considered that takes the story to a whole new level.
8. When I add in a new element of a character’s personality or backstory, then go back to layer in notes about the addition and find that this new element works perfectly with several scenes I’d already written and makes them even better.
9. When my cats all come to see me in my office at the same time and sit at my feet and on my lap while I write. Sure, two-thirds of them are trying to tell me their hungry, but it’s nice to have the company.
10. When it doesn’t matter there are dirty dishes in the sink, a to-do list a mile long, or a hundred emails to read. Kevin and Walter are having the most intense moment, and I’m not leaving the page for anything. Well, certainly not for anything related to washing dishes or taking out the trash.

Some days, writing is hard, but days like today are why I love this gig. Thank you to all the readers who make it possible for me to do this for more than just myself.