Snowed in!

Help! We're snowed in! Literally.

On Saturday, we had our annual Christmas with my husband's family at a hotel. It's great fun - we take over the lobby with tables full of food, the kids swim and the adults play games. Santa even makes an appearance! We always stay overnight, which comes in handy when staying up til 2:00 AM. (Not me...I was in the room by 11:00 but the kids and hubby stayed up. That's what happens when you get up every morning at 4:00).

Well, if we would have known what kind of weather we'd have to drive home in on Sunday morning, we wouldn't have rented that room. The blizzard and total white-out conditions had us praying the entire way home that God would deliver us to our door. And He almost did. We got stuck in front of our house! (But hey, we'll take it!)

Our poor little cul-de-sac has not been plowed since the storm we had last week (which was another doozy) and now we are literally unable to leave the house.

On one hand, this seems like a great excuse to sit and write all day. I love the IDEA of being snowed in. But, knowing we really can't leave, makes me feel a little trapped. In fact, I'm getting claustrophic just thinking about it.

Man, if that isn't exactly how I felt at times when writing my novel. So much "white stuff" piled up in my brain and snowed in my creativity. I often wished for a plow to come and clear away the heavy snow so my creative juices could start flowing again.

I'm very thankful that two weeks ago I finally plowed through the snow that was piled against my creativity door and finished my novel. But I think if I had utilized the following four tips I would have been able to get out a lot sooner. So here are four tips for preventing your brain to be overtaken with snow...or at least for finding a way to plow through when you find yourself stuck.

1. PRAY! As was proven on the way home from the hotel, God does answer prayer! It's His desire for you to get that story written!

2. Stock up on lots of Salt. Or, in this case, Butt Glue. Ok, so salt is for ice, not snow, but I wanted another chance to use the phrase Butt Glue (makes me laugh every time). And besides, just as salt can help prevent nasty falls on the ice, butt glue can keep you from falling out of that computer chair. And if your butt stays seated, that novel gets completed!

3. Keep Shoveling. This isn't easy. No one likes to go out and shovel every few hours. But maintenance is key. Anybody knows that the higher the snow piles up, the harder it is to shovel. The same goes with brain snow. Take time every day to get your priorities in order (this means putting God first!) and keep the walk clear so that when new stuff starts piling up, you don't have feet of old stuff to wade through first.

4. Look for Friends with Plows. Hey - if we had a friend or neighbor who owned a plow or worked for the county, you can bet we'd be on the phone asking them to help us out. If I sense my creativity getting snowed in, emailing a friend to ask for an extra boost of encouragement, feedback, or a kick in the pants is sometimes all it takes.

I only wish a kick in the pants is all it would take to get those snow plows here. Sigh...