Where have I been? Away from my blog for too long, and I woke up wondering what could have kept me away.

Life.

By that I mean wife, sons, death of friends, work, grading papers, writing lesson plans, orienting to a new school year, promoting a novel, reviewing film and writing copious notes as part of post-production, planning a promotional video for a band I’m in. Movies. The NFL. Presidential campaign lunacy —

None of this is an acceptable excuse, if I am to be completely honest. Not for me. Not for you.

Writing isn’t something we do instead of living our lives. Writing is an integral part of our lives. We shouldn’t decide whether to write or do one of the activities listed above; we should write as part of them.

Blog with a nice cup of (insert addiction here). Write commentary to the politics of the day while watching the shows you’ve recorded. Vow to watch less of them, especially the repeats. Write while ignoring the commercials during that football game you can’t miss. Write in the early hours when no one is up and you shouldn’t be, either. Write in those wind-down minutes in bed before sleep takes you.

The mistake we make is deciding when we have time to write. If we write during the time we spend thinking of when we can write, the problem won’t exist. Don’t procrastinate, write about procrastination.

Does it sound unrealistic? Really? I just wrote this blog while waiting for my tea to boil. Short, sweet, and offering up a valid point I needed to see, and I hope you did, too.

And so my writing gap is over, my procrastination ended, my blog revived, my writing live renewed. We begin again. we keep calm, write on, and life is a little more worth living.

Your turn.

Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info, click here.