Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Writing and Small Children: Making it Work


I had my first child a little more than a year and a half ago. I read a ton of pregnancy and baby books and thought I was pretty well prepared, but I didn't consider the enormous impact having a child would have on my writing.

I'm just gonna come out and say it. Writing with a small child around is hard. (I'd imagine it's even harder with multiple small children. We're expecting a second at the end of the summer, so I guess I'll find out!)

Hard doesn't mean impossible. Since my son was born, I've done major edits on one manuscript and finished two others that were languishing in first-draft land. It has taken some major determination, though, and a willingness to drop everything and write whenever the opportunity presents itself. Sleep schedules become vitally important (this post is being written during nap time, for example). I used to be picky about creating just the right atmosphere for a long writing session, but now I snag fifteen or twenty minutes wherever I can.

Since many writers are parents, there are some great resources for commiseration and help around the web. Here are some of my favorites:
Are you a parent? How do you carve out your writing time?

3 comments:

  1. Yes, it is hard. When they were little tykes, nap time was sometimes writing time. Then when they were elementary and middle school age, I wrote in the mornings before they woke up, but now that I have one in high school that time spot is taken up. Sigh. I now write after the kids leave for school if I have the time. It is a hard, but grabbing a few minutes here and few minutes there is about the best I can hope for at that moment. Good luck. It is a wild, but fun ride!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember when I was pregnant w/my son, thinking I'd get all kinds of writing down while I was on maternity leave. Ha. Hahaha. I was a wacked-out, sleep-deprived zombie. Creativity went out the window, lol! Congrats on your impending newest little one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hahaha, I totally know what you mean. I thought I'd get tons done when the baby was a newborn too. I mean, they sleep all the time, right? Yeah...that didn't work out. :-P

    ReplyDelete