Chilly weather is a perfect time to gear up for new writing projects. The days are growing shorter. The creative spark bites a bit harder.

But there is so much living to do as well. I’m a giant kid so I have to jump in a pile of leaves, bake a ton of sugary desserts I could never possibly eat myself, and run around carving pumpkins, chasing my dog through the wind, and keeping the kids out of backyard bonfires.

Every season has something to offer. Autumn brings clear weather for a lot of us and that sets up distraction city.

It’s so easy to let the writing slip. Especially as Halloween approaches. But like any great love, if you care about it enough you’ll make time for it.

I don’t know why my internal clock is so random but this is the time of year that I pop awake at 3 am ready to draft wholly developed ideas. I’ve been doing this long enough to know not to ignore it. When writing wakes you up, you better respect your subconscious and go work.

My writing schedule is always changing. I often sacrifice sleep for my craft because I won’t sacrifice time with my family.

Sleep is for lazy days, not super creative moments.

The writing sprints flow better when I let go of schedules and allow the adventures to drive me where they will. Sure I write for a living and have to get to the office, and there is always some even my kids need me at, balancing this takes work. Effort.

A little extra oomph does it. Carrying a notebook and pen everywhere helps. I’ve had to train my brain to wait until I’m ready to spill the words. Sometimes it acts up, but the sentences easier after busy days.

I never run out of material because I am always doing something, going somewhere, meeting someone new. I attribute my wide body of work to my lifestyle of variety.

Fall is the perfect time of year to test a new recipe, go to a new place, and revisit the elements around us that we always come back to. I don’t care how old I get I will always enjoy raking my yard and jumping in the leaves.

When I was a kid I didn’t have a yard. We lived in little apartments and had to play at the small playground in our complex, so now that I have a nice little piece of land I’m not wasting a moment of it.

That energy builds off of itself and drives my writing once I get some down time. I could never lock myself away from the world to finish a novel. That would deflate the passion.

Writing should never be separated from life. It is life. It’s the connections we build between ourselves and the world around us that give every piece we write the electricity it needs to strike the reader with intensity.

I’ve never once experienced writer’s block and I’m sure I never will. The sky is calling. It’s out there waiting to inspire.

Don’t be fooled by the internet, work schedules, or dwindling time. Playing gives the work what it needs to be real. Get out there and jump in the leaves or hold a caterpillar. Never lose a sense of wonder.

It’s a better story than anything we set aside to force something out.