It began with a New Year’s resolution. A good thing. Yes? Get into shape. Lose a few pounds and start taking some of the supplements we are encouarged to take–baby aspirin, Omega 3–that sort of thing.

So I started doing them–at least the easy part. I started taking the extra supplements. All good. Right?

Turns out, not so much, in my case.

It began with difficulty catching my breath. Then I got so I was breathless at far less than my normal amount of exertion. Constant ache in my left chest which worsened at night.  Yes, I did the reasonable thing. I arranged to see my doctor. Unfortunately the earliest date was three weeks away. But the nurse told me what days my doctor would be the ER doctor. So I waited. And I checked out my symptons on webMD. For most of them a warning orange flag appeared. ‘Go immediately to the nearest medical facility.’ But I needed to see my doctor so I could get follow up. So I waited as my symptoms worsened. Or was I just imagining it? You know how it is when you start to think about aches and pains. They get worse.

Friday was her day in ER so up I went. She rubbed her hands in glee at being able to poke and prod me. I had ECG, xrays, blood work. My heart was fine but she said my lungs looked…okay, I can’t remember what she said but something about them being over inflated, or something. It appears I am having an allergic reaction to the Omega fish based pills which I had quit taking two weeks prior as soon as my symptoms appeared.

I’m home with a puffer and pills and orders not to do anything strenuous until I get an all clear. (At least 2 weeks). Not that doing anything strenuous is an option. I can’t get enough air into my lungs for just ordinary activity. And a strict warning to avoid fish in the future. Any kind of fish. (There goes tuna melts and salmon sandwiches.)

So now I have an excuse for sitting around enjoying the sunrise and/or sunset.

Or planning trips to somewhere warm and sunny. Like Hawaii.

Am I the only writer who finds whatever part of the process I am currently working on is the WORST part? Though I admit there is a certain excitement about starting a story, a delightful sense of urgency about getting in on paper once I start to write and then a thrill of completion when I reach the end. (I always feel a little bit like Meg Ryan in her famous scene in When Harry Met Sally–I’m ready to cheer, I’m full of release thought no one can see the cause. LOL.) But there’s also times in each stage when, as my critique partner says, I bleed from the ears. The agony of writing.

Sometimes the task feels like this project. (A giant pressure vessel weighing 384 tonnes leaves Saskatoon, where it was manufactored, bound for the oilsands in Fort McMurray. Escorted by police, the convoy is travelling about 35 kilmeteres per hour. Photography by : Greg Pender, Saskatoon Starphoenix, Canwest News Service, The Edmonton Journal.) Can you see the man in the picture? Click on the picture to enlarge it.

This week I read an article from www.writersdigest.com called 10 Disciplines of a Fiction Writer by James Scott Bell. He suggests a number of things (10 to be exact) that make the writing less of a struggle. His suggestion of Super Tuesday really resounded with me. He says, “I have designated each Tuesday to be exclusively a writing day. I have other duties during the week, but I work it out so I can leave Tuesday completely free. I don’t schedule appointments or anything else on that day. My goal here is to blow through my usual quota of words. Sometimes I see just how far I can go. The result is often that wonderful feeling you get when you’ve been in “flow.” Time speeds up. You have done a great day’s worth of work.”

I love the concept of giving myself one day when nothing but my writing matters. The bills can wait. The errands in town can be done the next day. So I gave myself a Super Thursday this week. And it went well. I did about 7500 words. That’s almost three times what I can hope to do on a regular day. It felt so good. That’s the ecstasy of writing

Now I have to play catch up on other stuff–housework, bills, etc.

No not mine. It’s Harlequin’s 6oth anniversary.

It began in 1949 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Yeah Canada). The first book was The Mantee by US author, Nancy Bruff, and sold for 50c.

Here’s a sample of a 1949 cover. All I can say is we’ve come a long way.

Harlequin is the world’s largest publisher and has sold 8 billion books since 1949. They have a base of about 1200 authors and are published in 107 countries and 29 languages. They sell 130 million books each year–that’s over four books every second.

They produce 120 titles monthly. One in every six mass-market papersbacks sold in North America is a Harlequin or Silhouette novel. (Information supplied by a calendar put out by H/S for its authors to celebrate this anniversary)

They offer everyone a gift–free downloads of 16 books. Go help yourself at this address:

 http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/index.php# (You might have to copy and paste it into your address bar.

Happy Anniversary, Harlequin.

The workshop in Vancouver was great. I learned lots. In fact, I learned so much I can’t begin to sort it out.  I’m waiting for it to sift through my consciousness and meld with the other things I know. (If only it was that simple). I truly have a better understanding of story but I have to learn where to use the information in my own writing.

The trip was every bit as fantastic as the workshop. We had great weather, a great flight and a good time, Our hotel room had one wall of floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows.

   The city was almost spring like– a welcome change from the long winter weather we’ve endured.

We took the river taxi to Granville Island and enjoyed a few peaceful hours Friday afternoon before the hectic Saturday and Sunday schedule.

It was altogether a very nice break–both relaxing and educational. It’s hard to believe it was more than a week ago.