Last week, I resubmitted the Lame-O story that stressed me out a couple weeks ago. I found an ending that was logical, got some advice from my husband and my writing buddies about how to make the main character more sympathetic, and cut a lot of material that just seemed to distract from the main focus of the story.
I’m hoping the editor will now find it publishable, because I am simply sick of the story. Continue reading
I may be an early bird, but I promise I don’t feed worms to my kids for breakfast.
I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I am a morning person. Why the shame? Because I have discovered that there is nothing that night owls hate as much as the behavior of us early birds. And it seems that there are a lot of night owls around, judging but the fuzzy eyeballs cast in my direction at 7 am, when I smile and bounce and chirp, “Good morning!” at them.
When I lived in that sleep-deprived state induced by having an infant at home, my natural biorhythms were completely disrupted. Continue reading
Soooo…to make long story short, I did not spend my morning writing or editing today. Nope, no 1000 words for me today. Instead, I attended a workshop by Esther Simon, a well-known professional organizer. It ended up being a little bit of a wake up call. My revelation came in the middle of a discussion about how the way you spend your time should reflect your goals and values.
Am I really doing what I need to do to sell my next book? Continue reading
I really intended to write my next novel this summer. Really. I have it all outlined. I even tweaked the outlined last week and diagrammed characters, settings, and the like. I did.
But life happens. I have all my kids and the stupendous Mr. Klempner all home this summer, and we’ve been busy tidepool-hopping and museum-visiting and swing-pushing and the like. Also, I had a few deadlines to meet on short pieces, so I haven’t been lazy.
Really.
It might be more realistic to keep outlining and diagramming until the kids all head back to school. At that point, I should have more time to sit at the computer and crank out 1,000 words a day. Plus, I want to set aside an hour a day to revise the recently-rejected previously-completed novel. Then I can justify agent hunting.
I’m trying to be patient with all the interruptions and distractions. Just one more month to go, and I should have plenty time to write.
At least, that’s the theory.
People often ask me this question: How do you find time to write? Other moms work outside the home, sometimes full-time, yet my extremely-part-time and mostly at home writing puzzles them. Life as a FT mom is so wild and wacky, my head buzzes with ideas that could make great kids’ books. Doesn’t yours? This is how to get the ideas out and coherently on paper:
Rebecca Klempner 