Mother Writes: Relaxing into my new writing routine

Friday, 24 May 2013

Relaxing into my new writing routine

I can actually feel myself starting to physically relax out here. The days are warmer and slower and I feel like I'm not rushing so much anymore - in fact, I'm barely rushing at all.

I have got myself into a good routine as I have every morning from about 8.45 to 12.45 to myself for my writing, reading and conjuring and it is BLISS. It's worked well dividing my morning into little project chunks and even if I only work on one of these projects for ten minutes, that's fine, I have still given it some thought. So here's what I do (in no particular order): 1) Research digital publishing and read about it online 2) Edit my Spanish Civil War novel as it still needs some attention before I publish the e-book 3)Write between 500 and 1000 words of my new novel 4) Research and think about creative writing for kids as I would like to start running workshops at the start of next term 5) Do some exercise! This involves me walking very fast up and down up the long road at the end of our drive (it currently takes about 40 minutes but once I get my 'power-walking' style perfected should take less! People often think I am lost and ask if they can help me, it is such an odd thing to see for most people!)

All the above might sound like quite a lot but it's amazing how much I can get done in 4 hours.

Oh, and before you think that photo of me was taken at our house and this is how we eat breakfast every morning in Kenya...it's not (sadly!). It was taken at a lodge during our last trip here in February.

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Mother Writes...What's it all about?

When I was little, I imagined with the supreme confidence of a child that when I was all grown up, I'd be a celebrated writer. And by grown-up, I probably meant about eighteen. The concept of even reaching the age of thirty, let alone beyond, was off my radar and my seven-year old self shuddered at the ominious thought of not having published at least several novels by that grand old age.

Fast forward to the present. Here I am, age thirty-five, wife to a lovely hubby and mother to three gorgeous children. Now, am I writer? My seven-year old self would hold a very strong opinion on this: No, because I don't have a single published novel to my name. But I'm pleased to say that now I'm all grown-up, I'm also a bit more measured and realistic in my expectations of myself. Don't get me wrong - I love my seven-year old self for believing I could achieve that much but I have, over the years, come to an important conclusion:

If you dance, you are a dancer. If you paint, you are a painter. And if you write, you are a writer.

But we have to actually do it, not just talk about doing it. It's all too easy to procrastinate about our creative endeavours and that's all I ask of myself now: to create; to write. And if I'm lucky enough to get something published (which I'm pleased to say that I have done, in the form of short stories, reviews and articles), well, that's a bonus. And that's what this blog offers: little slices of honesty on my plate of life as mother, wife and creator of words. It's often not easy to juggle all three, particularly dealing with bouts of chronic insomnia. But I have to trust this is all part of the journey, and challenges are what make life interesting.