Be Happy Now

If you aren't happy now you probably won't be happy when you have:

An agent

A book deal

A bestselling book

A movie based on your book

A theme park based on your movie

Millions of dollars

Etc.

That is all.

Get it Done

Lately I've been making a lot of excuses not to write.

The last few weeks have been NUTS. We've had a slew of school activities, doctor's visits, and volunteer commitments. Now, we're in the middle of a pretty big remodeling project and my four-year-old just started puking.

Nice.

I decided to let my writing time slide, thinking I'd get back to it when I'm not so swamped.

Then I read this on Jody Hedlund's blog, and realized I need to make time to write. Life is chaotic, but I know I can carve out an hour to write, even on my busiest days, as long as I make it a priority.

I NEED that hour.

I'm going to try harder to make it happen.

Do you struggle to fit writing into your daily schedule?

A Year

Sometimes I get tunnel vision. When I have a goal, whether it be renovating a bathroom or publishing a book, I put all my energy into it, often letting other important things slide.

Every now and then I need to be reminded of my priorities.

This happened one year ago, when I had my fourth baby. There were complications and as a result my little guy spent the first two weeks of his life in the hospital, learning to breathe.

Those weeks were the hardest of my life, but they were also cleansing in a way. I focused entirely on him. The only thing in the whole world I wanted was for him to be okay. All those other things, things I thought were important, disappeared.

I've tried to remember those weeks as I've gone through this year. It's been a frustrating time for my writing. Things haven't always happened the way I hoped they would.

But, when I think about the what REALLY matters to me, I have no complaints.

My little guy is a healthy, thriving one-year-old now.

My family is happy. Life is good. And I am grateful.

The Fork in the Road

Sorry about the blog silence Monday. Time seems to be getting away from me lately.

Last Friday I wrote a scene that introduced a new character. It was a good scene, full of tension and suspense. I loved it at the time.

But then I realized that this character will change the course of the story and now I'm not sure I want him to do that.

I'm going to have to give him the ax. It's a shame, but he just doesn't fit with my vision for the book. Now I just have to build up the courage to cut and try again.

Do you ever get to a place in your manuscript when you have to make a decision that could drastically change the rest of the story? What do you do?

My Writing Life, Simplified

I realized yesterday that I started writing almost exactly 4 years ago.

I thought about those years and decided it might be fun to break them down.

So here's my life (in mostly chronological order):

Year One:

-Wrote really crappy stuff

-Let family and friends read some of it (much to my embarrassment)

-Learned a lot

Year Two:

-Finished first book

-Sent 2 queries

-Realized it was awful and put it away

(hopefully forever--no one should ever have to read that book!)

-Finished second book

-Queried agents

-Had some requests and a few invitations to rewrite

-Met writing group

-Revised

Year Three:

-Signed with lovely agent

-Began blogging

-Revised more

-Started several new books

-Started tweeting

-Went to my first writing conference with my writing group girls

-Met many writers online and in real life

Year Four:

-Had horrific pregnancy

-Had sick baby

-Finished first draft of third book

-Shelved third book

-Wrote first draft of fourth book

-Went to second writing conference and met my agent

(who is even more lovely in person)

-Let fourth book simmer while working on fifth book

-Made plans to finish fourth and/or fifth book before 2012

And that's where I'm at.

I think if someone told me when I started writing my first book that I'd have to write at least four more before I saw one published I would have been discouraged.

But, looking back, I'm not discouraged at all. It's been a wonderful four years. I've learned a lot and plan to learn a lot more over the next four. And, you know, hopefully sell something someday.

How long have you been writing? How have those years shaped your perception of writing and publishing?

Balance

A few weeks ago I was talking to my cousin at my grandmother's funeral.

He asked me about my writing and I told him a little about the book I wrote and the ones I'm working on now. He said something to the effect of, "I'm so impressed that you can do that and raise 4 kids."

It was a sweet thing to say, and I could tell he meant it. I should have just said thank you, but I've always had trouble taking compliments, so instead I said, "Well, I don't do very well at other things. My house is always a mess."

Then he said something that really made an impact on me. I can't remember his exact words, but they were something like, "We should feel sorry for people with little children and immaculate houses. They miss out on a lot."

I liked that.

Confession

I'm going to admit two things:

1. This year, and probably last year too, I've been a really crappy writer. I haven't written regularly at all. I've started 3 manuscripts and finished 0. I've had a few spurts of productive writing time, but mostly my focus has been on other things.

2. I don't feel bad about it.

I had a reflective moment the other day as I looked back over the year and some of the struggles we've been through, and overall I feel really good about where I've put my focus. My family needed me and I was there for them.

Sometimes I feel like a lazy bum when I see how much writing some of my friends do. Several of them have written three books in the time it's taken me to write half of one. I have to remind myself that this is not a race.

Writing is important to me, but it's nowhere near family on my list of priorities. I know the day will come when my babies will be all grown up, and I don't want to look back at my life and feel like I wasn't able to enjoy their childhoods because I was so wrapped up in my own pursuits.

Still, I don't think it's impossible to be a good mom and a good writer, (plenty of people do it!), and a shift in our schedule should make it a little easier to get some quiet time. On Monday two of my four kids will be headed back to school. My preschooler will start school the next week. They'll be filling their little brains with knowledge, baby will be napping, and I'll be writing up a storm. Hopefully.

Do your priorities sometimes push your writing to the backseat?