Monday’s Pen to Paper: Writing is hard. I give up.

It’s hard to write. I have yet to get on an ongoing regular schedule. I have had times where I’m on task and I love it, then life gets in the way. Last year I cleaned up and sold one house and remodeled and sold another. That took up a lot of time and energy. In the spring we had extended family living with us, which bit into free time, and then during the summer my kids are both around, so I’m always busy. Simply put, finding time to write can be a struggle. 

Sometimes I just want to give up.

I have written posts about how I’m working on finding time to write, and what I have realized is that if you have a busy life, and have not established yourself as a writer in your mind, or by receiving a good paycheck, its hard to justify putting writing first. The kids, the dishes, the dogs, the groceries, work, and everything else seems to get priority.

So what can you do?

Reevaluate your schedule often. Figure out what is important to you and make a place for it in your life. Writing is important to me, but I also have other priorities. My family comes first, and then of course I love to play basketball and be active, and…and…and, this is why I have to sit down and reassess how to keep writing in my schedule.

I write once a week with my friend Jenny (that’s a given), and what has worked best for me after that is to grab my computer and go to “the office”  (a coffee shop away from my house and my responsibilities). Still, this is not easy and unless I give myself a little talking to, my writing falls away. It’s not forgotten, never forgotten, it just sits alone, waiting for my return. I feel guilty for deserting my writing, and I hate that I feel guilty because I actually do want to write and why should I feel guilty for wanting to do something that I need to do.

So I come back around and set a date with myself, to get on task. To get to “the office” and do what I love. So if this sounds familiar to you, DON’T GIVE UP! If it doesn’t sound familiar then I am SO happy for you and would ask that you share your secret with me and anyone reading this blog in the comment section, because as writers we must all stick together and give support so that we keep getting our work out into the world.

Write on!

WRITING PROMPT #1: I will make more time for writing by…

WRITING PROMPT #2: Write a poem for inspiration. If you need a prompt try one of these…

Random

Inspired

Words

…or use all three.