This week's topic is writing for contests, but I'm going to skip that and babble about finding the time to write. I seem to be struggling with that lately.Why is it we find time for so much other stuff, but finding the time to write is hard? Seriously! I can find the time to make dinner. Do the laundry. Meet a friend for coffee. Go to aerobics. Walk the dog. Do the dishes. Heck, I can even do my taxes. But carving out the time to write is just plain hard.
Imagine it. I'm sitting down at my computer. I have my notes. I've done my research. I finally know what Cerri is going to do next and.... Someone will call. The dirty dishes will call. My mother will text me. My husband will want to show me a YouTube video he finds fascinating. My teenage daughter will pick that precise moment to tell me all about her day. The dog will have to do out.
It never fails!
And I let it. I know this. It's totally my fault.
I will answer the phone. I'll let the dog out. I'll wash the dishes, text my mother back and watch the video my husband wants me to see. (Although, I won't find it nearly as interesting as he does. In fact, I'll probably wonder why I watched it in the first place.) And, of course, I'll listen to my child tell me about her day.
And then, well, I will have forgotten those inspired words I was about to write. Or else it will be time for that aerobics class I mentioned. Or time to start dinner.
I don't think I'm the only one who gets so easily sidetracked. What I'm not sure of is if it is a confidence thing or a "Mom" thing. Am I so easily swayed because I only have so many more years of my child in my house? Or because I'm not sure if this novel will ever be published and it's easier to leave it in "almost perfect" mode and never submit then it is to never see my book on the bookstore shelves?
It's a tough call to make. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I have the answer.
I do know that I must write. It's not a hobby or a passion. Those words aren't strong enough to describe my need to write. It is part of what makes me who I am. So, even when I get sidetracked by life, I'm still plugging along. They may not be the best words ever written, but they're words. Written.
And, until I can find a better way to do it, I'll be writing those words between loads of laundry and sinks full of dishes.
Blessings!
Nichole
2 comments:
Oh, boy- does this sound familiar! My daughter is 23 and still wanders in to interrupt my writing and tell me about her day- I consider myself blessed.
It's all part of who you are-as long as you are writing- even in spits and spurts-you're writing.
I know I have to be careful not to let fear of the story not being "good" enough lead procrastination into never writing.
Cheers!
I feel the same way. Hubby is the biggest offender right now. "Honey, where's the..." or "Honey, do you know..."
Inevitably, I'll have to set aside the computer and go hunt down whatever it is.
Then there's laundry, housework, errands, etc. Some days, it's a wonder anything more than "blah, blah, blah" gets typed.
Don't you ever wish we could put "Then the heroine went into the dark forest and yada yada yada and she lived happily ever after?"
Where's the fun in that, right? :-)
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