Six weeks until Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, and my alarm sounded at 4:00 A.M. Immediately, I hit the snooze button, just a few minutes longer, I promised myself–a natural reaction to my daily routine. But this morning, something unnatural altered my ritual of alarm and snooze and I jumped out of bed.

A statement, the best piece of writing advice, stuck as a high note in my mind, singing the same one-liner of a song . . .

Nothing magical happens until we write.

It’s been two weeks since I began a new routine, getting up hours before my family stirs in the bed, two weeks of hitting the snooze button for an extra ten minutes. Truth is, I attended BRMCWC for the first time last year, my very first conference. Like many first-timers, I didn’t quite know what to expect, all I knew for sure, my personal expectations were high–very high.

And it happened, just like that, and was over. I spent the last year reading and rereading my notes. Great inspiration flew from my handwritten scribbles. The very best writing advice given, over and over, at the conference. . .

Sit down and write.

Nothing magical happens unless we do the work.