February, 2026 - P.J. MacLayne

Writing After Covid #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne February 22, 2026 February 22, 2026 Open Book

Feb 23, 2026

Looking back at the Covid years, did that time impact your current writing?

It’s only been a few years, but it feels like ancient history.

Like many writers, I am an introvert. (Well, mostly, depending on the circumstances.) The year and a half of working from home deepened my appreciation of that personality trait. In contrast, many of the extroverts from our office returned to work much sooner. It came as a shock to my system the first time we went out to a restaurant to eat after the quarantine was lifted.

How did that affect my writing?

I want to say it increased my speed, but that’s not true. Instead, I became more deliberate in my choice of words, which slowed me down. Editing became a fixation. I’m more concerned with writing the best words I can rather than as many as possible.

But I don’t know how much of that is because of Covid or all the changes in my life after the restrictions were lifted. Retiring, moving halfway across the country, my mother dying. Everything happened way to close together. The older I get, the more of a perfectionist I become when it comes to my writing.

Is the change in my writing style good or bad? It depends on what my current goal is. Right now, it’s bad. I’m trying to get the first draft of this book finished. Last week was a good week; this week not so much. (Too few words, and I’m not happy with the pace of the story. But I keep plugging away.) I’m debating whether I need the last 500 words at all. I thought I’d get it done by the end of this month, but don’t see it happening. Not if I keep getting rid of words!

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

How is everyone else doing?

Did Covid effect your writing? I’m looking forward to your answers. As regular readers know, you can join me by following the links below

As always, please stay safe until next time.

Goal update: I only made it to 39,000 words. I have several good excuses, but I haven’t forgiven myself yet.

Staying Motivated #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne February 15, 2026 February 15, 2026 Open Book

Feb 16, 2026

From one of Kelly’s readers: What keeps you motivated on tough writing days?

This question is surprisingly hard for me. What keeps me motivated at all? I haven’t made a name for myself, and am barely breaking even monetarily. Some days, I feel like I’m writing into a void. But then I run into one of my local fans, and their kind words cheer me up. Or maybe it’s something that a fellow author says online.

Some days, it would be easy to give up. But what really keeps me motivated are my characters. They want their stories to be told and get upset when I ignore them. (They also argue with me over the plot of the story. )

And is there a moment in your journey so far that completely surprised you?

I am continually surprised by lessons and people along the way. The way other vendors at cons and festivals supported me as I tried to sell books. How poorly I do at some big events and how well I do at some small ones. What has surprised me the most? How much fun it is to sell a copy of a book out of the back of my Jeep at the local Dollar General. The joy I get when I complete a book, when I hold a physical copy of a new story, when I meet a new fan.

That takes me back to the first question. What motivates me on tough days? The search for that joy, and how I’m addicted to feeling it again.

What motivates the other authors on this blog hop? You know the drill. Follow the links below to find out.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

Goal update: I’m at 38,000 words. Major progress! And the plot finally reached a turning point I’ve been striving for.

What’s For Supper? #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne February 8, 2026 February 8, 2026 Open Book

Feb. 9, 2026

Did you try any new foods last year?

How did that go?

During the summer, I spend a lot of weekends at various community events. You’d think that would provide the opportunity to try a variety of new foods. But I don’t eat much during festival days because I’m afraid to dig into some messy dish just as a potential customer comes to my booth. Besides, I don’t want to have grease on my hands when I’m handling my books.

But there’s the rest of the year. And limited options in my local area as far as restaurants. In fact, this year we planned to try a new one for our anniversary. Walked in, and they had a sign that said “cash only” and were serving a limited menu. We ended up going elsewhere.

Now, I’ve tried new dishes in favorite restaurants.

But I don’t consider that as new food as they were still “American-style” dishes.

Here’s a confession: I’m bored with cooking and eating. The variety of dietary needs in the household makes meal planning difficult. We’ve fallen into a pattern of repeating the same dishes over and over. At times, I’d rather just munch on a variety of cheese, meats, and crackers than eat a full meal.

I hope your diet has been more adventurous than mine. Feel free to share the new dishes you’ve tried in the comments. And I’m hoping the other authors on this hop have more to share than I do. Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe. (and warm if you’re in a freezing area!)

Goal update – I’m at 34,800 words. Not as far as I wanted to be, but the characters are switching the plot on me.

Stories That Will Never Be Told #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne February 1, 2026 February 1, 2026 Open Book

Feb 2, 2026

We’ve talked about stories we’ve revised after many years. Have you ever given up totally on a story idea because you didn’t feel you could handle it?

Either technically or emotionally?

I “write” throwaway stories all the time. Or used to. Let me tell you about it.

One of the ways I used was to tell myself bedtime stories as I lay in bed. A way to settle my mind and keep my mind cleared of worries while I fell to sleep. I wouldn’t call them silly, but they were never meant to be anything serious. A little romance here, a touch of fantasy there, only short segments of stories that would never go anywhere.

Now, I might repeat the same story night after night, making only slight changes, anything to lull my brain into quietness. Fairy tales. A princess finding her true love. A sorceress spending her last days as a hermit in the mountains. Interestingly enough, but although I can write from a male point of view, those little stories never were.

Note: This AI generated

But I haven’t “written” one of those stories for quite a while. No particular reason. Don’t be jealous, but these days, I can fall asleep in no time flat. Like within two minutes. There’s barely time to form a coherent thought and rearrange my pillow before everything “fades to black.”

Back to the original topic:

Is there a story idea I’ve given up on?

If you follow me, you know I can’t write a romance. I’ve tried. But I’ve had good ideas for stories. I even tried to write a couple of those. The last one I even finished before I decided it wasn’t any good. There were a few great elements, but it needed more. The concept remains viable, but I don’t know that I’ll ever attempt revising it. (Although who knows – maybe I’ll pull another Annie McGuire and write an entirely new series based on the incident that inspired the original story. Or maybe it can become a Edwards Investigations mystery. Hmm))

There were other stories that sparked in my brain and I toyed with, but never found paper. Not even as a note in my archives. Some of those could have been genres I’m not comfortable with. (I’d use Sci-Fi as an example, but then I write The Rise Of Jack Hennessey which was written 20 years in the future.) Better to think they were the right ideas at the wrong time.)

Let’s find out what the other authors on this blog have to say by following the links below.

And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.

Goal update: I’m at 33,300 words. I wanted to reach 34,000, but didn’t get there. I’ve updated the name to The Donovan File.

Month: February 2026