Caitlin
April 21st, 2005, 01:20 PM
I'm happy for you that you are able to successfully insert some writing time into your daily schedule. Do you have any advice as to how to do this?
During the writing of my latest book, I arranged my older daughter's half-day school schedule to coincide with her sister's afternoon nap. For the hour and fifteen minutes that they were out of my hair, I only ever did book-related stuff: planning, jotting, actual writing, whatever. I absolutely and utterly ignored all other things, such as dirty dishes, laundry, ringing phones, and scrumptious-looking novels not written by me. ;) And I became incredibly opportunistic, time-wise. If my husband decided to take both kids grocery shopping, I wrote. If he took them to the park, I wrote. Even if it was only a 45-minute quiet period, I wrote. I started taking showers after the kids had gone to bed, since I was too wiped out to write then, but the ideas flowed really, really well and made me feel like I was all set for the next day.
It's amazing how rapidly things change (as a mother you already know this!). Your four-month-old may nap like a trouper by the time he's 5 months old and start sleeping in really late by the time he's one; my hour and a quarter of writing time every day will change into more hours, fewer days a week come September. Rolling with whatever schedule you and your kids are at is the only thing you can do.
Anyway this is getting off topic! What I actually wanted to tell you was that I ordered A Telling of Stars from Amazon.ca yesterday. I'm bumping it to next on my reading list! :)
Yay! :D How wonderful - thank you. I hope you enjoy it.
During the writing of my latest book, I arranged my older daughter's half-day school schedule to coincide with her sister's afternoon nap. For the hour and fifteen minutes that they were out of my hair, I only ever did book-related stuff: planning, jotting, actual writing, whatever. I absolutely and utterly ignored all other things, such as dirty dishes, laundry, ringing phones, and scrumptious-looking novels not written by me. ;) And I became incredibly opportunistic, time-wise. If my husband decided to take both kids grocery shopping, I wrote. If he took them to the park, I wrote. Even if it was only a 45-minute quiet period, I wrote. I started taking showers after the kids had gone to bed, since I was too wiped out to write then, but the ideas flowed really, really well and made me feel like I was all set for the next day.
It's amazing how rapidly things change (as a mother you already know this!). Your four-month-old may nap like a trouper by the time he's 5 months old and start sleeping in really late by the time he's one; my hour and a quarter of writing time every day will change into more hours, fewer days a week come September. Rolling with whatever schedule you and your kids are at is the only thing you can do.
Anyway this is getting off topic! What I actually wanted to tell you was that I ordered A Telling of Stars from Amazon.ca yesterday. I'm bumping it to next on my reading list! :)
Yay! :D How wonderful - thank you. I hope you enjoy it.