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Let me preface all of this by saying I adore my child, and he is the brightest spot in my life.

That being said.

Here is this morning's schedule, so far:

5:50 AM: Alarm clock rings (iPhone robot ring). Hit snooze. 9 more minutes and I will get up to write.

5:55 AM: The monitor kicks to life. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

6:00 AM: After a bathroom trip, return Little Dude to bed. Pray he will not realize that this actually qualifies as morning. Grateful he dragged my lazy butt away from snooze-button land.

6:05 AM: Rocking on a synopsis edit. This is a miracle since I hate working on synopses. 

6:10 AM: "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

6:11 AM: Keep writing. Pray he will give up and go back to sleep;

6:13 AM: Second bathroom trip with Little Dude.

6:17 AM: Second bathroom trip accomplished. Trying to be patient but can only think of momentum on writing. Then Little Dude snuggles back in bed and says "Sleep is the best thing in the world, except for YOU, Mommy."

Heart. Melt.

Hand him my iPod shuffle/speaker and tell him he can listen to one of his "story tapes" on there until HIS alarm goes off at 7:09. He says he will pick the story himself. 

6:18 AM: Miraculously, able to jump right back into synopsis work. Five paragraphs edited and...

6:25 AM:  "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" 

The battery on the shuffle, which had a 3/4 full bar when I looked at it three minutes ago, has evidentally crapped out. That or somehow he has inadvertently brought about complete and utter iPod failure. Perhaps we need to set him to work on some North Korea nuclear enrichment plants. 

I set him up with his lullabies and he tells his teddy bear that they'd better curl up and get some sleep because it's very early.

Relief.

6:30 AM: Consider capitulation. How long will he rest, really? Decide to blog. And here I am. But now I think I'll try one more time. 

I loved this piece, "I'm Only Really Happy When I'm Writing, Or When I'm Having Lots Of Fun With My Friends And Family." As usual, The Onion nails it:

"...It always comes back to the writing: the discipline, the stamina required, the unrelenting determination to give voice to my innermost thoughts, thoughts that illuminate the cracks and crevices of the human condition. That is my only satisfaction. That and watching a really good movie on late-night TV...."

I find writing so satisfying and really do get unhappy when I'm out of my routine... and wish my routine were more routine than it is... but I need frequent breaks and human contact, too. Last year I went on a solo writing retreat, and let me tell you: after six days in a cabin in middle-of-nowhere Ohio, with no phone or Internet service (and only Season One of Buffy on DVD), I was going nuts.

This past week, in contrast, I spent several days hanging out with old friends in a house on the Pacific Coast, and I did not a lick of writing. By the end, I was definitely raring to get back to it, but taking a break from writing actually felt great! Balance in all things...

Besides, if I'm not out in the world gathering experiences, what am I going to write about next?

Exploring a sea cave at Pescadero Beach on New Year's Day, 2011; photo by my friend Dave

Writing is hard enough. On any given day I wrestle with hundreds of distractions – some real, like my children’s needs or my other professional commitments, some self-imposed, like checking email or needing snacks. But when the holidays roll around, maintaining any level of productivity is a challenge of epic proportions.  Between the shopping, wrapping and sending (both personal and corporate), card-making and sending (again, personal and professional), household decorating, cooking, attending holiday events at school, work, and with friends, and the very real and important desire to spend as much time as possible with my family, there’s barely a moment left for writing.

But I can’t afford to stop altogether – that would mean both a loss in income and a loss of ‘muscle.’ Writing is a discipline, like working out, and in order to do it well I have to stay in shape. So I need to be extra creative at this time of year to juggle the extra load and still stay somewhat sane.

Here are some of the ways I maintain focus and momentum with my writing during the holiday season:

• Organize and consolidate the gift-giving – I try every year to come up with a unique and personal gift that will work for most of the people on my list. Last year it was a custom cookbook with all our favorite family recipes. In previous years, we’ve made bulb-planting kits, jeweled book ‘thongs’ (i.e. strappy bookmarks), and made countless yummies with recipes attached. We’ve purchased dozens of copies of one favorite book, or found unusual gifts that are also charitable contributions. This not only limits the amount of time I spend shopping (I still get individualized gifts for my immediate family and a few special friends), but it also makes the holiday budget much more manageable.

• Enlist the family’s support and assistance – I send out over 500 holiday cards, when you factor in both personal and the corporate ones. To simplify this, I print our holiday message inside, thus greatly minimizing how many I need to hand-write in. (Again, I do put personal messages in a few, but not all.) I also print mailing labels, as opposed to hand addressing (I know – but I’m lucky to be getting out holiday cards at all, let alone hand addressing them!) Then I recruit the kids and my husband and anyone else who’s around and game to help for stuffing, labeling, sealing, stamping, mailing etc. I also lean heavily on my family for help decorating the house, tree, etc.

• Stay flexible about my writing time, and space. While I greatly prefer to write in my home office, in the morning or early afternoon, with the door closed and a cup of tea at my side, the reality is that I have learned to write at the kitchen table with chaos going on all around me. I have also learned to write at odd hours, and in other places. For instance, I am writing this post in a waiting room while my daughter is at an appointment…

• Keep lists. I save my holiday gift and card lists on my computer, so I can call them up each year and adjust them accordingly, rather than having to create them again from scratch. I also record the holiday bonuses we give to mail carriers, garbage collectors and other service providers, so I am consistent and don’t forget anyone.

• Remember my priorities. In the end, I know I will not look back and wish I had spent more time working, but I may well look back and wish I had spent more time with my family. December is actually my favorite time of year in our little town, as everything is so beautiful, and everyone is in high spirits… and I love our family’s annual holiday tradit
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I know that for a writing blog I should write about “show, don’t tell,” but today I’m going to digress and do “show and tell” instead.

When I started writing thirty years ago by taking the ICL writing course, I had a newborn, a two-year-old and a five-year-old. I found that babies and bylines could mix.

Ta-Da!

Last week I discovered that principle all over again with the arrival of my youngest granddaughter.

I want you to meet Elayna Joy, who was born last Tuesday night. I got to hold her when she was about an hour old. I’m blessed to have this baby living just a ten-minute walk away!

In the Blink of an Eye

I almost never post personal notes, but I have permission from Elayna’s parents (Jacqui and Michael) to post some photos. And I want to take this time to say that, although babies and bylines can mix, babies grow up fast. You barely blink and they’re crawling, walking, running, and off to school. Hold them while you can. I plan to!

I’ve had hundreds of students over the years who were young moms and dads trying to balance their writing and children. I never made children and writing an either/or situation. I wanted to have both in my life, and both have brought me such great joy.

But as much as I love writing, it was never more important to me than my kids. And it’s not more important than my grandchildren either.

So today’s post is short–I’m off to rock my granddaughter!

I started this blog in April 2009 and it was a great thing for me because I’ve met so many kindred spirits — people I would have never known if I hadn’t started blogging.

Back then I was posting 5 days a week but that got sort of hectic so I decided to post 3 days a week, which has worked well for me.

But I’ve now decided to post 2 days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting next month. I’ll continue to concentrate on craft, inspiration, the writing life, and share conference and workshop experiences — sprinkled with my other off-topic posts like space geekfest and flashbacks.

Even though I do love blogging — I also realize that I need to focus on my novel project to grow it into the best work it can be — and concentrate on balancing all the other areas in my life. And of course the day job takes some priority since it pays for my shoes, shelter, and Skinny Vanilla Latte habit.

One of the reasons I started blogging was to find a community of people with a shared passion for the writing craft — and I really think that I’ve found that here in my little corner of cyberspace. And for that I’m grateful. I appreciate your comments and all the subscribers who read the posts. I also love visiting your blogs as well.

Fellow bloggers, I would love to hear how you balance writing posts, working on your novel projects, and managing the whole social networking thing. It can definitely be a slippery slope.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! NaNoWriMo writers get ready to rumble.

Work on your projects and get some writing done.

I’ll see you on Tuesday.

When I first started this novelist journey, I wasn’t consistent with my writing. I would go in spurts and stop literally for months at a time. I learned that for me to finish a novel and get it ready for submission, I would have to get organized.

I learned the value of making writing “to-do” lists. My lists helped me finish my first novel and now I’ve come back to my lists to help me get through the process of my second novel.

These are some of the things I’ve learned that work for me when I create my writing to-do list:

Determine your time frame. Do you like to cross out tasks once a day? Or do you like to review your list once a week and monitor your progress? The answer will help you figure out the best approach to manage your list.

Make your tasks specific. A general to-do task of “work on novel” may not get the same results as a task of “write two pages” or “write 250 words”. When you have specific goal, it’s easier to measure your progress with a clear deliverable.

Try to be realistic. Do you really think you can write 100 pages a day when you have other responsibilities? Make sure the tasks on your list are attainable so that you won’t be discouraged. You want to challenge yourself but you also want to be sure that the tasks on your list can be achieved reasonably.

Celebrate your progress. When you complete your tasks, be sure to celebrate your progress. Writing a novel is hard and every word you create inches you closer to the finish line. Instead of thinking about how much you left have to do, appreciate how far you’ve come and the work you’ve already completed.

Right now, I’m doing daily lists. At night before I go to bed, I think about what tasks I want to accomplish the next day. Sometimes I get a little ambitious and I may put down more than I can accomplish but I don’t stress out about it, I just move it to the next day’s list. I find that concentrating on daily specific tasks keep me from getting overwhelmed.

For my daily celebrations, I usually treat myself to a square of mint chocolate. And I already have my eye on beautiful bracelet as a gift to myself when I finish my novel.

Last month, I posted about the current struggle I had with balancing writing with my day job.

When I came to the conclusion that my novel wouldn’t be done as soon as I had anticipated, I was disappointed but then also a little relieved. I now had realistic expectations. Even more importantly, I wouldn’t be stressed out trying to finish it.

I have a lot of writer friends who are working on novels and most of them want to be finished in 2010. Some of them are making good progress while others are stressing out. I tell my stressed out writer friends to ask themselves this question:

Do I want my novel to be done or do I want my novel to be done well?

There is a difference.

Having your novel done may mean that it’s got all of the things it needs on paper — word count, premise, plot, characters — but is it really ready? Is it the best it could be?

If you can’t answer that question with confidence (and all writers really know the answer deep down), don’t be afraid to revise and take more time.

Believe me I know as writers how we can get worked up about what is selling and how we should “hurry up” and get our work out there and catch the wave. Or how we’re afraid that our novel will be stale and that no one will buy it if we don’t finish it yesterday.

Remember, a good story is always in demand. The last thing you want to do is send a novel out before it’s really finished.

Finish your novel well.

How do you deal with the urge to be done with your novel? How do you know your novel is ready?

I found a new blog this week. Yes, I know — like you need to know about another blog. Ha.

The Day Job: A Writer’s Inquiry is a blog where author Erin Moulton explores the day to day jobs of writers and authors.

I’ve always been fascinated of how other writers balance their time with work and writing. Here are snippets from some of the featured interviews so far:

“I worked in a bookstore. I worked as a waitress. I worked as a secretary. The worst job ever–I had a summer gig sewing sequins on costumes for the Ice Capades. I thought I’d die of boredom.” - Kathi Appelt

“Waitressing has been my most constant “wage earning job” while I have been writing. The flexible hours and lack of “take home” responsibilities suited my life style and my writing ambitions.” - Kelly Bennet

“I began writing on my lunch hour, after work, and after the Oklahoma City Bombing, decided to quit and write full-time. That tragedy was a wake-up call that life was precious, too often short, and that the time to make my dream come true was now.” - Cynthia Leitich Smith

So it got me thinking about my best and worst day jobs.

My best day job was when I worked a test proctor for software certifications. After getting the online test started, I could do whatever I wanted so I mostly wrote — those people could have been cheating on their test for all I knew.

My worst day job is when I was working in sales for a medical software company. We did a LOT of traveling, conferences, and it was very hard to focus on writing. I was too tired and mentally drained.

What about you? What days jobs have hurt or benefited your writing?

A new Muser, Soy, asked a really excellent question in Give Me Your Feedback and I thought it would make a good post. Her question was:What is the best way to describe a place in a really special way, without sounding too visual?I like this question, because it's what the Setting Thesaurus is all about. As writers, our first reaction is to transcribe everything we see in our head onto the page

Tweet This! Digg this! Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Share this on Reddit Share this on Technorati Post this on Diigo Share this on Mixx Add this to Mister Wong

As writers we’re encouraged by editors and agents to develop and maintain an active online presence well in advance of publication date. Current advice is that this should be done at least six months before you expect your book to hit the shelves, but debut authors are feeling increasing pressure to begin this process much, [...]

Sin #7: TMI (Too much information)We're all guilty of this sin at some point during the writing process. The trick is finding the correct balance by the time we reach the final draft. Nothing will turn off the reader faster than long passages of hand-fed information and back story. The reader chooses a book with the expectation that they will experience something new, something that only this

Sometimes we need a little imbalance in our lives to make us think about how to get centered again. Writing a picture book in verse is like that, too.

When writing in poetical stanzas (With all those good things that any picture book needs-characterization, setting and a plot, for goodness sake!) the writer has an additional concern. That is, a sense of balance. Oftentimes we can sense imbalance but we are not quite sure why something doesn’t work. For example, the magical number in most western literature is three. Tasks, bad luck, good luck, etc. come in threes. (Unless you come from a Native American background, then four is usually the special number.) If this is violated, somewhere down deep we readers feel a bit uneasy. Things are not quite what they should be.

Most picture books are thirty-two pages in length. (Some are forty, or twenty-four; all are a number of pages that can be divided by 8.) Working with thirty-two pages, a writer of picture books has to be able to envision action for approximately thirteen double spreads (26 pages), and two single pages (first right-hand page and final left-hand page). The remaining four pages are front and back matter. One of the jobs for the verse writer of picture books is realizing how the stanzas, with or without a chorus, play across these pages in a balanced way so the reader feels, yes! This is right.

Early in my writing career I wrote a book from which my editor wanted me to remove one stanza so we could get it into a twenty-four page format. But which one should I remove?

This manuscript also contained a repeated chorus at precise points in the story. In my mind it was designed like one might a beaded necklace. There was an opening, three strands (stanzas) of a certain rhyme pattern and rhythm, a chorus strand with a different rhyme and rhythm, three more of the basic strand, another chorus, three more of the basic, and then a closing. So the original pattern went: Opening, 3 stanzas, chorus, 3 stanzas, chorus, 3 stanzas, closing.

How could I remove just one and keep the whole thing working in a balanced way? Well . . . obviously, I had to remove the center stanza so the central strand of the basic pattern contained only two stanzas. Now my pattern was Open, 3, C., 2, C., 3, Close.

Now, you might think at this point that I am being just too fussy. But am I? Certainly a reader sometimes is not aware of all the work a writer does behind the scenes to make a story flow as though it were effortless. However, if we jarred the reader rudely at a point in the flow-he/she would certainly feel it, even though the reader might not be exactly sure why it didn’t work for him/her.

For example lets look closely at this title from a friend of mine’s manuscript (Hope Vestergaard) that will be out with Greenwillow in the next year or two: Digger, Dozer, Dumper. Obviously, this is a book of large machines for little readers. And the title is perfect. Why is that?

First, we have the very descriptive words that tell exactly what each machine does. Second, we have the wonderful alliteration so beloved in children’s books that helps the title just roll off our tongues. But there is more . . . a third thing. This is something an author would think about and deliberately design, something that just feels right.

Notice the vowels? Each one progresses down in tone and where they said in the mouth. The “i” is higher, said using the tongue up near the roof of the mouth. The “o” is said in the round chamber of the middle of one’s mouth, while the “u” is said more in the lower back of the mouth near the throat. It feels good in our mouths to say it. It’s memorable, it’s musical. It’s perfect!

Now you know a little about why I fume when someone comments, “Oh it must be so easy to write those books. They’re so short.” When t

Thanks to everyone who commented this week.  We are trying to do something TRULY amazing...write books for children and teens.  It is an enormous task, an awesome responsibility, and our readers are hoping that no matter how much time we can devote to it...that we will keep at it.

So here's my last word on the subject:

No more excuses.....make the time you need to write your stories.

We are writers.

We have to read, write, rewrite, talk about our work, sit in coffee shops and eavesdrop, rewrite, research, stare into space....rewrite......

Writing is hard!!!

The trouble is, when you let your own time limits get in the way of EVER putting that butt in the chair, we actually stop writing.

Don't stop writing!!! 

But don't think you can't do anything else.

We are in control!  It is fun to waste the few minutes reading about Jon and Kate

or Jen

or twittering

or even blogging (no guilt there...it's not for everyone)

or waiting to see if the shoes on The Outnet will go any lower.

But these tasks will not get your writing done!!!  (oh well)

The bottom line on balance:  You don't have to write all the time, but if you limit these kinds of activites--not the important ones--go ahead...enjoy the day job/kids/hubby/friends......and you will soon be celebrating your own next milestone.


And keep sending recipes!!!!!!!

xo Sarah

Balance. It’s a word that a lot of us talk about…a lot of us yearn for…and sometimes it feels unachievable.  Lately, it's been on my mind a lot...probably because I would like to find more time to write...or my writing is eating into the time I spend with family...or because, well...my daughter is applying to college, and we don't yet know what that will mean.  Well, maybe I do.....It means I probably need to start looking for the perfect DAY JOB...you know, the kind that pays pretty well, doesn't tax my energy too much, and still gives me time with family, writing, husband, time for errands.....

sigh.

Balance is not just an issue for women, but we seem to have a bigger issue with it.

No offense to male writers, but I never hear men complaining that they are having trouble with balance...but if you are, welcome to the club!

For the last year and a half, I have been lucky enough to be "living the dream."  My husband makes a nice salary, which includes insurance.

I teach for writers.com.

I recently sold a book.

But that may not be enough.  More money may be necessary.   I have figured out that I am not all that prolific.  Revision takes me a long time. 

PLUS, it's hard to write when you don't know how you are going to pay the bills.

It brings up a whole host of questions, none more important than: what will that mean for my writing? My last job all but stopped the flow.

Today, let's all pat ourselves on the back for what we do.  For the list of jobs we accomplish every day.  I have long felt that those unpaid jobs can also be categorized as unappreciated jobs...not by our family...but by us.

Think about it!

How many of these jobs do you hold?  How many do you brag about?

A wife

A mother

A writer

A teacher
A chauffer
A housekeeper
A bill payer

Anything else?
 

A volunteer
A substitute teacher
A coach

What are YOU trying to balance????? 

So, how do we make it work? How do we make time for writing? How do we reach our goals? How do we have time to get our hair colored?

This week, we will be talking all about balance and how to get it. 

Special request:  If you have new and unusual recipes to feed a family and require less than thirty minutes prep time: please post.

-Sarah Aronson, who almost forgot to post, because she was too busy doing other things....like writing!

Life is also very insistent when it needs attending to and easily distracts one from creative pursuits no matter how much one procrastinates ... :) I've had so much to attend to lately that I find myself slightly (or hugely depending on how I want to view it) blocked where art is concerned at the moment. So I've been fiddling around more with typography lately and this is one of the results.

I hand-draw into my sketchbook first now, as my tablet PC seems to have given up on me, and then scan the drawing in and polish it up in photoshop. After which I transfer it into Illustrator to fine tune the lines as it's the smoothest way of changing the colours on the letters if I wish to do so. 

I'm considering opening up a new store on zazzle devoted entirely to my play with fonts and type design, as they seem to be getting increasingly popular. It's also fun and almost as therapeutic as drawing, so I won't be giving up on it anytime soon. Cheers!