A Mom Trying To Write

From a Stay at Home Mom, Homeschool Mom, and Writer Mom

I have been struggling to keep up with all the things there is to do as a Writer Mom. I have the hard and wonderful distractions of all of my children being home 24/7, because of a pandemic. I spend most days making sure they get their schoolwork done, answering the many questions of a five-year-old who is discovering the world in fresh ways every day, and household chores that never get all the way done.

Somewhere in the middle of all those things are moments, literally minutes, I can try to write.

I have spent more time taking care of those responsibilities and a lot less time writing. It happens, responsibilities are important.

I’ve actually found it is a great excuse NOT to write. The procrastination easily slides in.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I can do it later. There will be plenty of time after the kids go to bed.

Then the negative thoughts, seeing their chance, step in.

No one really wants to read what you write, anyway. You’ll never be a REAL writer.

Or any of the million other negative, biting, and nasty thoughts our minds find so easy to feed us.

I find these get louder when I am stuck in a story I am working on or when a blog post I write doesn’t get much traction. Logically, I know this is just how the writing business is. Emotionally, it can be painful and overwhelming. The amount of work we often put in, with so minimal return, can be detrimental if we aren’t careful.

I have been feeling all these things lately. Overwhelmed with them. Frozen.

This morning I decided to at least get through my emails and I came across an email from Bookfox titled, “The Worst Writer in the Universe.” This really stood out to me and caught my attention.

Because today, I felt that.

The article wasn’t what I expected, though. I thought it might talk about how so many writers fall short of being good; myself included. I was wrong. It was an uplifting message about choosing to write even when the negativity comes.

It was about ignoring those negative thoughts and reminding ourselves we have a story to tell and our readers will love it.

So, I put some jazz music on to get in the mood for the short story I am working on. Due for submission this evening, I might add. I am writing this to get the creative juices flowing because I’m not quite ready to dive into the story.

The dishes sit undone. The floor is a mess with the toys of a five-year-old playing pretend with her dolls and painting beautiful hearts and dragons. Laundry is in the wash and the children are content eating their lunch. I have a bit of time to sneak in some writing before the next wave of responsibilities overwhelms me.

The End Of The Day:

I didn’t make my deadline. It upset me, initially, but I didn’t have time to write again until it was too late. There was an emergency boo-boo that required bandages, kisses, and cuddles. Math problems to work through and teachers to call. Bedtime baths were out of control and by night’s end snuggles were needed to fight monsters, so the little could sleep.

I, finally, sat down to write, an hour left on the clock for submissions, and I wrote. I wrote until that clock ran out and I wrote some more. Why didn’t I stop when I couldn’t make the deadline? Because the story still gets to be told. It still gets to be important, just not in the way I planned.

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What do you do to get yourself writing again? How do you stop the negative thoughts, or do you even have that problem? How do you manage the balancing act of work, life, mother, friend, and Writer?

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_{***Disclaimer*** This is a work in progress and as such is likely to change before reaching the finished product. Thank you for your understanding.}