Writing books, writing courses, writing blogs, they all say the same thing: writers have to write.

To me, this means that writers are always furtively scribbling in notebooks and journals, or writing poems on the backs of cocktail napkins.

However, it turns out that having to write might also mean that while I’m taking a 72-hour break from my fiction manuscript, I am struck by panic, wondering things like:

• Once I finish this, what in the world am I going to work on?
• What if I never, ever have a good idea again?
• If I worked at Starbucks, how many lattés could I drink before getting fired?

And so, I spend said 72 hours immersed in researching, writing, and submitting a non-fiction proposal.

“I thought you were taking a break,” my publisher said.

“Yes,” I said. “I fell off the non-non-fiction wagon.”

She thought that was funny.