Okay, I've written about The Haunting, Take Time to Breathe, and Patience over the course of the last few weeks, well, days really!
There were quite a few interesting comments regarding Take Time to Breathe - go over, check them out, and then hop back here. The one comment that really struck a note with me, not that the others didn't, was this one by WindyA at Like the Weather:
Other than that, all my writing time is when the family is asleep. I would rather sacrifice the hours of shut-eye than time with my husband and kids.
My response (oh, come on, like I wouldn't have a response??):
I try and schedule my writing time for when I'm alone. #1 - if I don't, my beloved partner will just come in the room and start chatting with me, totally clueless to 'the look' I'm giving him. He's just lucky I like him a wee bit. There is sacrifice in the life we writers have chosen, and we just have to figure out where we're willing to make that sacrifice.
Yes, for a change, I inspired myself! Woo-hoo!
Everything I've blogged about recently - The Haunting, Take Time to Breathe, Patience, and a few other things as well, seems to come back to one thing: what sacrifice are we willing to make to become published authors? What relationships? What moments with our kids? What moments of life?
Am I willing to get up at 5 AM instead of 5:30 AM to write just a bit in the morning? Heck no. 5:30 AM is early enough. I do my exercises, shower, get dressed, scoop the litter boxes, walk Jesse, and then off to work. I'm not getting up at 5 AM. Sorry, not able to make that sacrifice, even for my writing, which I love, love, LOVE to do.
I write when I write, normally after Franklin heads off to work, and if I can't fit writing into my busy schedule . . . well, I just don't stress about it. I have enough white hair coming in, without adding more stress to my life. I mean, I am so tired of my oldest sister laughing and telling the rest of us that she doesn't have a single grey/white hair. She can be so hateful sometimes. : )
I'm willing to give up a lot for my writing, just not everything, at a cost to myself that is more than I'm willing to pay.
How about you? What price are you truly willing to pay to have your book on the shelves at Borders and available through Amazon???
How much of yourself are you willing to give in this crazy reality series known as: The Amazing Race to Publication?
Will you be able to look back, one day in the near future, and be content with the choices you made to finish that race?
For me, right here/now, I'm happy with the choices I'm making. I'm taking things slow, I'm taking deep breaths, and I'm creating balance in my life.
S
6 comments:
Yes! I will be able to look back one day contented with the choices I made. I won't surrender my life to it. But I understand that there are so many hours in a day.
IF I want to be an author, then I must make TIME somewhere. Out of the 24 hours in a day, there has to be TIME carved out for me to write. If I don't plan that time then I will NEVER write. That's just the way it is for me.
It's all in the planning. :) (See Robyn's, What I've learned Wednesday post.) She's joining Tess in posting these little Wednesday tips that she has learned. :) I love doin' commercials on my friend Scott's blog. :)
Robyn - you're just lucky I don't charge you for advertising on my blog!! Ha!
Right now I've got my ms on the back burner while we get Rose & Thorn running smoothly and I take care of other life responsibilities (kidlets, caregiving to my ill mom)...but after that, watch out world!
Good post, Scott. As you should know from the last two posts I've put up on my blog, these points hit right to home.
Since deciding to go dark on my blog I've had more time to focus on the important things. Balance is so difficult. I have other things that take all my time right now. When I can juggle those with ease I'll return to my blog.
In the meantime my writing has slowed down, I don't visit a million blogs anymore, and I'm realizing that publication never was the first and foremost dream I ever had.
Thank you for some great posts, Scott.
It's nice to know someone else is frantically typing away at 5:30AM everyday while their hubby is upstairs snoring! ;-)
Angie - I seriously believe that the times we put our writing aside, are the times we need to put our writing aside. Too much of anything is not a good thing, even something we love so much as writing. It is recognizing that we need to step away, even for a brief moment, that is probably the hardest aspect of writing . . . or anything.
Lady Glamis - I'm glad you dropped by. : ) When I first started writing, I truly didn't think about publication. I just had stories to tell, so I started writing. I'm not sure where the dream of publication began, but I finally realized I had to step back from that dream or possibly lose myself in the process. Yes, I want publication at some point . . . when I'm ready. I also want the best of what life has to offer, and that means balance, sacrifice, and a whole lot of other things. Take the time to enjoy life while your writing time is slow.
Cammie - you just never know when I might be typing away. : ) I'm an early riser, even on the weekends - dratted dog who I love dearly but doesn't know that 6:30 AM on the weekends is not time to rise and shine, but rather time to sleep and snore. Still, mornings are the best part of the day, and I'm often in my office typing away as the sun rises into the sky. Ahhh, life!
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