Let's face it. Sometimes we can't work, we can't get our writing done every day. I'm always saying you have to write regularly, but sometimes life just sweeps over you and the best you can do is to write field reports in your journal. 

I've had a tsunami of grandchildren for the past ten days.  Plus their parents, their cousins, their other grandparents – it's been wonderful but not a time when I got a lot of work done on the new book, or posts written for this blog, or classes and workshops prepared for fall. Emma was here for a full week and no one on this planet has more energy than my eldest granddaughter, and Grace was here earlier and developed a lot of red bumps which got everyone very excited. And then a bedroom window was mysteriously broken, and in a household where  almonds and yogurt are called breakfast, suddenly eggs were required, French toast, and for dinners whole chickens were cooked, etc. You just can't write regularly through some of this stuff.

Let yourself off the hook if you're not writing every single day. Just keep jotting down those field reports from your journal.

And the good news! Three of my students have had essays accepted in the L.A. Times new Saturday column about love and relationships in Los Angeles. Jill Cargerman's wonderful piece about being married and happily childless was published a few months ago. Tomorrow, August 25th, Dr. Bob Goldman's essay will be published, and Barbara Lodge just called me yesterday to tell me that her latest essay has been accepted and will be published soon in L.A. Affairs. Congratulations. I'm so very proud to have them as students!

And don't forget the UCLA Extension Writer's Faire this Sunday on campus. It's free and a great way to spend a Sunday. Come say HI.