Monday, October 05, 2009

Moms who write

Dear Mothers of young children who write,

How on earth do you do it???

In case any of you have noticed, I haven't posted in a week. We flew out to Seattle and are playing grandparents to our two year old grandson.

So I ask this of young writers: How do you find time to write and live life? I have found new admiration for all of you. I can barely get to the computer let alone free my brain for some writing thoughts between playing games, picking up the house and napping:)

Hope to be back on board the moment my plane touches back down in Florida. Missing all of your updates but sending promises that I will be back on track ASAP.

The good news is that the six hour plane ride allowed for uninterrupted reading time.

Share your secrets with me!

34 comments:

Susan R. Mills said...

My kids are 11, 13, and 15, so it's not as crazy as if I had young children. I'd also like to know how those moms with little ones do it! I hope you've had a great time with the kiddos.

Great Grandma Lin said...

I'm retired but I used to steal time away from the kids to keep my sanity. Now after being away from writing watching the grandkids, I'm more that ready to write. It works both ways. lol!

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Yay, so good to hear from you! Uninterrupted reading time is awesome!

My little ones are 2 (almost three) and 7. Sometimes it's a challenge writing with small children around when there's a scene I really want to write and I can't. But otherwise, I use nap times or down times or night times to get a lot done. And by the time I get those chances, so much has built up in my mind, I can't wait to write it down!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Mine are 4 and 6, and sometimes I have no idea how I do it! It takes patience (which I sometimes lack and get flustered over) and the willingness to steal moments here and there, which is more sporadic and disjointed than I'd like. Still, I take what I can.

Although it does help now that my youngest in in preschool three afternoons a week. If I'm wise, I use that uninterrupted time to focus on writing.

I've missed you! Hope you're back and kickin' soon. :)

Andrea said...

Our youngest is the only one still home and he is 16. However, when I have my two year old grandbaby, I do write sometimes. I started her very young. She LOVES books. I sit her beside me...she has a stack of books, etc. and we make our journey together. I must admit it is MUCH more challenging, but with Savannah it can be done. I learned recently that Savannah is an exception when I had another 2 year old at my house. All I did was chase him. WHEW! I am too old for that!

Hope you have a wonderful time with your grandkids.
Blessings and prayers, andrea

Diane said...

When they're at school or in bed is quiet time. Glad you had special time with the family! :O)

Heather Sunseri said...

I have a 6- and 10-yr old. It's quite challenging at times, but they give me quiet time sometimes. I also get up at 5am during the week when the house is still asleep. An hour of peace and quiet with my favorite blogs or with my manuscript is bliss.

Ginny said...

Hi Terri, I am so happy that you got to see your grandchild. I bet you are taking it all in too! They grow so fast.
My friend from church is an author. She writes these vampire romance novels. She has children, is involved at school, in church, and always has time to go to conventions, book signings, the movies, boating, skiing, etc. She is young (maybe mid 30's) so perhaps that is one reason she has such energy. Don't know for sure.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Secrets...hmmmm.

Let's see, I can't tell you how many countless numbers of Goldfish there are tucked in between our couch cushions, how many times "lunch" for the toddler has consisted of the all-nutritious peanut butter on a spoon and how many times I've met the bus driver outside in my pj's b/c I just didn't have time to change...

Cheers to writing with kids!
~ Wendy

Vickie said...

Terri, hope you had a great time visiting with the family. Life is a hard act to balance if you want to get something profitable out of it.

Blessings,
Vickie

Natalie said...

Sometimes I don't. I need to accept that sometimes my life is just to crazy to fit writing in. This last week has been terrible despite my best efforts-- So I hear you.

Gaia said...

haha and here you guys are having problem with time for blogging. I have the time, just nothing in the head.

Btw you look too young to be a grandma. Cheerio

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Terri -

So that's where you've been hiding! I'm glad you got to do the "Grandma thing," but sure missed you. :)

I don't have any little ones, but I do have a house in need of major work, a job hunt in full swing, church commitments, my Mom, and more. I do it my spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning, and being flexible. If I'm too rigid with my schedule, it's a disaster in the making.

Blessings,
Susan :)

BeckyJoie said...

Writer's insomnia. That's the only way I can write without interruption. LOL. Or lock myself in the other room and pray that my kids don't kill each other while I'm on the other side of the door. JK. I teach my kids, work hard, play hard. They see me working hard and learn it's sometimes not okay to interrupt. Later, they see me avoid the writing long enough to play with them and we play hard! They know if Mom gets her work done, she can play afterward. :>)Too much time on FB I suppose-I'm writing in the third person.

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

i wait until naptime. and bedtime. :)

I also wanted to let you know about my blog address change. *sigh* If you're following me, my posts now won't show up in your feed, dashboard, sidebar, whatever. So please forgive me, but you'll have to change the address for my main writing blog, Where Romance Meets Therapy, to http://jeanniecampbell.blogspot.com. To do this, you have to "unfollow" me and follow me again. Sorry for the confusion!

Jeannie
The Character Therapist

Nikki (Sarah) said...

glad to see you back here. My kids are 9 and 13 so much easier than a little one. Glad you had time to be with him though. They are fun.

Jessica Nelson said...

LOL!!!
Well, it's a little different for you. You're grandma. :-) I'm just boring mom.
I mentioned to my mom (who helped watch my kiddos while I was at the conference) how well my two youngest play together. She was shocked. Apparently when she was here they wanted her attention all the time. LOL But with me, they play so well by themselves. I play with them a little, but I also do chores, read blogs, etc. I write at naptime and at night.
I'm glad you had fun! :-)

Kathleen said...

Seattle? I lived just south of there for 50+ years. What a good time of year to be hanging with the grandbabes. Hopefully you're getting a few sunny skies, if not some great, new material to weave into your writing.

Blessings,
Kathleen

Analisa said...

My son is in high school and I am home during the day. So I have time to write but must admit not always the motivation. I find it is easier for me to write with a deadline or a short story. I do have a novel I am writing.

My hat is off to those who write and run a household and blessings to those who add a job outside the home to that as well.

Greg C said...

I wondered where you were. So glad that you made it home safely. Now you know where all my time goes.

Nancy said...

I'm babysitting now because I have a new grandson and I love it. It does challenge my writing time. I just have to blog on a different day. I have found that since he came, I don't blog as frequently. Does that bother me? Are you kidding? This is my long-awaited first grandchild and writing,while important, will have to be squeezed in.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Oh, I could never have ventured into this writing gig with young ones at home. I am forever thankful to God for holding off on giving me this writer's bug until all three of my girls were in school.

I do wonder often how young mom's do it, they must be very disciplined!!

Clementine said...

There are days when I feel very guilty. My kids are 5 and 10. I try to do as much as I can while they are in school. Caroline was an infant when I started, and Ben was 4. Those were really tough days. The computer is in the center of the great room, so I just grab it when I can. It's a challenge.

Jill Kemerer said...

I'm glad you're having a fun time with your little guy!

My secret? I didn't. My kids did not nap and they required so much of my time and energy that I decided I'd wait until they were at least in pre-school. It was the only way I could stay sane!

Have a safe trip back!

Anonymous said...

You were in my neck of the woods! Dang! I would have loved to try to meet up!

I have worked at home as a medical transcriptionist for 15 years so my kids were 3, 1 and a newborn when I started. My secret is schedule the days so that naps are prime time working hours and so are evenings/early mornings. I never got much sleep but I got things done. Also, I would give my kids quality attention and fun time so that when it was time for Mommy to work, they could entertain themselves and feel like I was not ignoring them since we just had Mommy time.

Kara said...

I totally understand! I have such a hard time balancing it all. I keep thinking some day they will be older and I will have more time. But know we are homeschooling so who knows:)

Kara said...

I have so many typos in that last comment because I am typing with my 2 year olds help...distractions, distractions!

Mary L. Briggs said...

My hat is off to all the mom's of young children that manage to write! Mine are grown and I can barely find the time.

Enjoy your time while your there~your book will be waiting patiently when you get back home!

Jody Hedlund said...

Terri,
There's a huge difference writing around your grandchildren over your children! I don't imagine my mom gets anything done while she's here! She goes home exhausted! But as moms we're with our kids all day. We are able to learn to balance things.

Angie Ledbetter said...

Hard hard hard to do. You write as fast as you can in the little cracks of time available, and when you're not brain dead from sleep deprivation. (I had 3 in 36 months + 2 steps!)

HUG THEM BABIES!

Julie Gillies said...

Oh, I hear you, Terri! My 4 grandkids absolutely wear me out. I always lose 5 pounds when I stay with them b/c I never stop! LOL

However, our 20 yr old still lives at home and is fairly self-sufficient (usually...he is still recovering from a surgery 3 wks ago). Our 14 yr old is quite a hand full. Thank God she is going to school part time this year, and on her homeschool days she stays on task. Yay!

My only secret is: I PRAY, ask for wisdom, and guard my writing time like Ft. Knox.

Kathryn Magendie said...

Working and mothering and taking care of house- when I did all that, I rarely wrote!

I can't wait for my granddaughter to arrive, but wish they weren't so far away in Oregon!

4 Life said...

LOLOLOL! I feel ya'! I have a 12 year old, and it's nearly impossible to write when he's around. Not because he's demanding, but mostly because I want to spend any time we both have together.

So - I hit the computer like the rubber hits the road when he's off at school. It's the only way.

I do remember writing a play with him on my lap one time. Not easy! He was still nursing! And I was still crazy enough think that a baby wouldn't interfere with my writing. DOH!

Deborah said...

hehehe...I'm an OLD mom with kids ages 13, 10, 6, & 2...and I homeschool....guess that's why I can barely find time to post on my blog, let alone write another book!