This week I want to address my fellow writers, and I want to ask them a question: Do you know what book you want to write next?

You may still be in the early stages of writing a book and not giving any thought to what you will write next, but I want to urge you to give it some thought—and it’s for a reason you probably haven’t thought of.

We all have stumbling points in our writing. It may be writer’s block. It may be pure laziness. It may be the distraction of a million other tasks, from doing the laundry to promoting your most recently published book. It may be the feeling of, “Oh, I’m never going to get to the end of this darned thing.” Any one of these can sap your drive and zap your creativity.

Whichever of these it is—and in fact, it may be several at different times—you find yourself not working on your book, not writing—or writing other projects, like blogposts, and ignoring your major project: your book.

You need a push. And planning your next book could be just the push you need.

Now, if you’re one of those people who can’t handle pressure, this advice isn’t for you. But otherwise, the pressure of knowing another project is waiting for you, combined with the excitement of looking forward to starting on your next book may be just the impetus you need to goose you into working harder, faster, more intensely on your current work-in-progress.

Try it.

So…what do you want your next book to be about?