Even though it’s how I make a living, I still treat writing like it’s my second job. A lot of authors say in their bios that once they made it — they got an agent and/or a big hit book — everything changed and they quit the day job and moved into the spare bedroom as an office and started keeping regular hours, etc.
I never had regular hours or a real day job to begin with — I always cobbled my work together and had a home office. Plus, I was a single parent for a while. Today, the kids still come first, as does the house, the chores — the garden, especially, since nature waits for no man.
That’s not to say other authors don’t prioritize their children — I’m sure they do! Having a place to go and a schedule to see to are some of the best ways to give your family what they need most; that way, when you’re working you’re working and when you’re with them, you’re with them.
I just don’t have that; I’m still mixing it all up in lots of ways, for perhaps both good and ill. Partly this is because, I think, I have many interests. But it’s also because I like to be done with all the “must-dos” before I sit down to write. Writing needs my full attention. And writing is something that, in many cases, I really enjoy doing. At least, it’s natural for me, when given a void of things to do, to want to write. It’s how I keep the voices quiet, the wolf from the door.
Of course, all this could just be one convoluted confession that I’m a terrible procrastinator, and that could very well be true, too.
Anyway, now that I’ve written this (I had to, I swear!) I’m off to tackle the actual day’s writing.
Thanks so much for reading.