Sunday, August 24, 2008

Energized by productivity

It's amazing how energized I feel when I get some writing done.

With all the demands on my time, I often feel as if I have to "steal" writing time. Part of me thinks that's a mommy-guilt stereotype, but there is always an element of truth to stereotypes. I am definitely not a stereotypical wife, mom, sister, friend, daughter, etc. so I can't imagine I'd follow any stereotypes. Still, one can't ignore the element of truth: my family is my first priority. I can't just pretend they don't exist, and usually, I don't need to. We coexist peaceably, the wife and mommy and writer and me.

However, something about this past summer's emotional turmoil made it hard for me to assume my writerly role full time, or even part time. My writerly self barely existed. So here I was, ready to get back to the novel, and my life had revolved around everyone else and all the things that needed to be done for 3 months. Getting my writing time back was not easy. I had to physically remove myself from my family in order to get anything done. I had to put my foot down and make it known that I WAS WRITING!

Let's hope the transition is complete and I don't have to do that again. Although, I must admit, it was fun to go sit in the B&N Cafe, sip a mocha, and do nothing but write. I could get used to that....

6 comments:

CJ said...

Good for you! I'll keep my fingers crossed for some good, old, dull routine for you!

cjh

Melanie R. Meadors said...

LOL I did the B&N thing a few weeks ago, it was nice!

elysabeth said...

It's nice to have you back sort of. I wish for some chat time when you can but I do understand. Back to work for me - I'll catch you later - E :)

Rain-drop said...

I find it interesting to read posts like this. I am a college student right now, but I imagine myself in 10 or 15 years to have a family and also be a writer. So I like to read these sort of posts and see what it is like trying to juggle your other selves along with your "writerly self," as you put it.

I like that phrase, "writerly self." :)

Glad you got writing time!

Rain-drop said...

I noticed you say in your description of the blog/you that you'd like to write a novel some day. Is that something you are currently working on, or are you writing short stories right now?

Just curious.

Janelle Dakota's blog said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by! I'm slowly getting back into the blog thing. Hopefully CJ's crossed fingers will work ;)

Mad - I love doing the B&N thing. It's nice to treat myself to a latte AND get uninterrupted writing time! I had to turn my cell phone off, though. Even though I wasn't home, they could still reach me! Aaaaaaagh!

E - hope to be able to chat again someday. I just haven't found the time to fit that back in yet.

Raindrop - it's so good to hear from you! LOL I had to look at my sidebar again (it's been a while). It still says I hope to write a novel someday even though I've written three. I guess I haven't thought about changing it because I don't consider any of my WIPs "done" yet. I love short stories and how fun it is to write a beginning, middle, and end and to play with a story arc in such a concise format. I have two longish short stories that feel more like novellas that I toy with every now and then, too. But yes, I am working on a novel right now. It's a murder mystery with romantic elements and the working title is Err Apparent.