Greetings Everyone!
An old acquaintance of mine recently found out that I
wrote Amachi’s Hope. (Check out my
excerpt if you’re new here J)
She was even more surprised that I found the time to create and now maintain
this lovely blog. LOL! She complimented me on my success and shared with me
that she’s also in the process of writing a book. [There goes another
connection!] Then she asked me the question
that I am sure most authors who are mothers hear, “How did you find the time to write?”
As you may already know, I began my quest to
write this book in 2003. After
deciding that this idea would be better suited for a young adult, I started
more intense research in addition to my writing. During that time I was already a mother (2
became 3), a wife, a daughter, a sister and anything else that was needed. (No
complaints, love my fam. J)
In 2009 I had a solid draft but it still needed
work. Believe it or not, it can take years to get your book where you want it
to be. I went through periods of exhaustion and times of disinterest. Times
when my thoughts and ideas would fight to come out. Or I would suffer absolute
and complete writer’s block. Though some people say it’s an urban legend, believe
me it does exist.
I would walk away from my book for weeks before I’d
look upon it again. Sometimes that’s really all it takes. Walk away. Do
something else. When you look at your
work again, it will be as if you had a fresh pair of eyes. At least that was my
trick.
Whenever I worked on my book it was either at night
after my little ones went to sleep, during my lunch break at work or the
occasional “quiet” visit to my local library.
They say that any “serious” writer should always find time to write.
Even if it’s an entry in your journal or on a scrap of paper that you
snatched off of your kitchen table; desperately jotting down your idea with
your kid’s purple crayon before it slips away into the ether.
Uninterrupted time to write when you have children is
a treasure. Sometimes a supportive
partner or spouse is the key. Or even a grandparent or sibling that’s willing
to babysit for a few hours. As someone
who has been through it and continues to experience it; trust me it is possible
to find the time. No one said that you
have to produce a masterpiece in each sitting.
But getting something down on paper (or on your computer) will make you
feel like you’ve accomplished something.
Perhaps, it will bring you one step closer to your goal. You guys know how I feel about that J
Good Luck and Keep pushing forward!
S-
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