What Writers' Husbands Understand

1. When I say, "Just give me ten-twenty minutes. I'll be right in," it really means, "I'll be writing for the next several hours because I can't fight the muse and I'll probably need you to drag me to bed at some point."

2. When I say, "I just got feedback from my critique partners," he hears, "You know that movie we were going to watch tonight? Umm, can we postpone it for an hour so I can read what my critique partners thought about that last chapter?"

3. When I say, "I feel so close to the end. I just want to work on it until I can type THE END," he knows he'll come out later and find me playing The Sims3.

4. When I say, "One more round of revisions, and I think I'll be set," he knows I really mean, "I'm down to the last five rounds of revisions, but I may decide to rewrite it completely at the end of the month."

5. When I say, "I'm gonna start querying next week," he hears, "Buckle up, Buster!" and gets ready to join me on yet another writerly roller-coaster.

Here's a shout out to all the spouses of writers out there who continue to be supportive (for the most part) and help us maintain balance when we're crazy. And especially thanks to my husband, without whom I wouldn't even be giving my writing a shot. 

Thanks, Bill, for all the weekends you let me sleep in because you knew I had a writing hangover. Our kids appreciate it, too. :)

We all have our muses, but who are the people in your life who balance that out and keep you grounded in the joys of reality? Feel free to give them a shout-out in the comments!