Unless you write a best seller like The Help, you probably need a different kind of help—in making ends meet. This may mean holding a day job that limits your creative writing time to early mornings, nights, weekends, and holidays such as Take Your Novel to Work Day.

But what if the creative writing muse strikes you at work—perhaps just after your boss orders you to submit some silly report ASAP? Well, you can weep at your computer (and watch the salty tears explode your hard drive) or do this.