How Do You Juggle Being A Writer?--A Guest Post by Marie Lavender

How Do You Juggle Being A Writer?

 

Well, if it hasn’t been said a million times, I’ll say it again.  Life is hard.  Why did we become writers if we had to juggle so many things at once?  Bills, family, deadlines, side jobs if we have them.  It’s a load of fun, right?  Right.  I suppose we did it for the benefits, not the monetary ones, of course.  Many writers just do it for the love of writing, for the brush of your hand across the page as the pen flows (or in the digital age, I guess that would be your fingers on the keyboard click, click, clicking away).  Perhaps we do it to feel that sense of accomplishment, that after writing a scene or a chapter, we can sit back and say, “Wow, did I do that?”  So, yes, it’s satisfying on a lot of levels.

But, then there are the disadvantages.  They didn’t tell us we’d have to go nuts because getting into the industry wasn’t a piece of cake.  They didn’t tell us we’d have to figure out how to write and still support ourselves.  They didn’t tell us we’d have to do social networking to market ourselves or launch blogs (though I really mainly did that for fun).  They didn’t tell us we’d have to find the time to write amongst all the other demands of life.

So, how do you do it?  Find the time to write, that is.  Nowadays, we have constant distractions.  Not that there weren’t any before.  But, it’s a bit more intense.  There’s family, of course.  How do you still devote yourself to your family and yet do that thing that you truly crave, that you need to do?  WRITE.  How do you write when you have other obligations?  Oh, and I don’t mean just the familial ones.  I mean, most writers at the start of their careers have to supplement their income somehow.  Or maybe in a marriage, you share that, but you still have to have a job on the side.  So, outside of a full-time or part-time job, how do you still find the time to sit down and write your heart out? 

Somehow you do.  You just try.  I know.  A lot of you must be thinking, “Ha!  Is this lady nuts?  Trying doesn’t do it.”  Yeah, it’s easier said than done.  But, if you just try, even if it’s for a few minutes to a half hour, you will have accomplished something in your day.  And yes, there are always distractions that pull us away.  Maybe your kid needs help with his homework.  Maybe you really need to make something to eat.  Maybe you really need to get some groceries.  Maybe that pile of bills is really calling to you.  “Please pay us!”  Trust me, ten minutes or so here or there isn’t going to kill you.  It won’t kill anyone else either. 

I live with about a million distractions.  I have had to multitask.  I have had to prioritize my life in so many ways, I still shake my head at the mess.  Is it chaotic?  Yes.  Does your writing thank you for it?  No.  But, you will thank yourself.  You just accomplished something a lot of people may set out to do in life, but may never get the chance to do.  When you hold that final manuscript in your hands (or see it on your screen), you get to feel that sense of WOW.  You think, “Finally, I did it.  I’ve been working this hard, and here it is.”  Of course, then you have to go to the trouble to edit it like crazy, or submit the damn thing to about a million agents and publishers.  But, that’s a spiel for another day.  What you see before you is a work not in-progress as we like to call it, but a work accomplished.  Good job!  Way to go!  You have met a milestone on your agenda.

Your job will make its demands on you.  Your family will demand of you.  It will seem like the world is trying to just make your life harder.  But, if you try to slice out a little piece of time for yourself to write every day if you can, you will be much happier in the long run.  I promise.  But, don’t just take my word for it.  Try it!

AUTHOR BIO

Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats.  She has been writing for over twenty years.  She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands.

At the tender age of nine, she began writing stories.  Her imagination fueled a lot of her early child’s play.  Even growing up, she entered writing contests and received a certificate for achieving the second round in one.  She majored in Creative Writing in college because that was all she ever wanted – to be a writer.  While there, she published two works in a university publication, and was a copy editor on the staff of an online student journal.  After graduating from college, she sought out her dream to publish a book.

Since then, Marie has published sixteen books.  Marie Lavender’s real love is writing romances, but she has also written mysteries, literary fiction and dabbled a little in paranormal stories.  Most of her works have a romantic element involved in them.  Upon Your Return is her first historical romance novel.  Feel free to visit her website at http://marielavender.webs.com/ for further information about her books and her life.  Marie is also on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

A list of her books and pen names are as follows:

Marie Lavender:  Upon Your Return

Erica Sutherhome:  Hard to Get; Memories; A Hint of Scandal; Without You; Strange Heat; Terror in the Night; Haunted; Pursuit; Perfect Game; A Touch of Dawn; Ransom

Kathryn Layne:  A Misplaced Life

Heather Crouse:  Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things