Writing is my passion. It’s what I’ve wanted to do with my life since I was ten years old. But, writing a book takes time and energy. Sometimes, I don’t get the privilege of either.
First and foremost, my job as the wife of a quadriplegic, is her care. Of all the things in my life that are important, making sure she’s as healthy as she possibly can be is number one.
I see a lot of posts about putting writing first, keeping the mindset that it is a job, and I like the thought? But, for someone like me, it’s not realistic.
As a caregiver, I must tackle the cleaning, the cooking, the driving, and caring for the pets. And, that’s before I get to actually caring for my wife or for myself. In addition, I get her dressed, help her shower, get her out of bed and into her chair, fix her hair, help her with medication, eating, and any items she needs to maintain comfort.
It’s an all day job. 24/7 And the list of things to do never runs out.
But, I’m not complaining. I have a needy wife, but I love her, and taking care of her, knowing she’s properly cared for, is one of the greatest joys of all. She’s also the most supportive human being on the planet, the muse of literally every story I’m writing, and my best friend.
So, how do I have time for writing? Instagram? Twitter? Promotion?
The truth is, I don’t.
As I write this, I’m letting her sleep in late while I get a few things done, organize some posts, making sure my social media is handled, blog, and plan a writing schedule I’ll most likely never get to.
Making time to write has to come between getting her a drink and taking the dogs to the bathroom. I don’t get to sit down for five to six hours with no distractions and hash out three thousand words like every Pinterest post tells me I should do “if I want to get serious about my writing.”
I had to develop the mindset that I’m still serious about my writing, even if I take bathroom breaks and bring my wife some M&M’s while she watches NCIS LA. Or, write 200 words in the morning, 1,500 in the afternoon, and another 1,000 just before bed.
There are no rules to writing a book.
There, I said it. No rules.
Okay, yes, there are grammatical rules. Format rules. And legal rules. But, there is no set way to physically get it done.
I wrote my first book during free periods my first year in college. With a full time school schedule, and working 30 hours a week, I didn’t have any other time to write.
The idea that you can’t possibly be serious about your writing if you don’t sit down and hash out those 10,000 words a day in one solid sitting is ridiculous, and completely ignores a good number of writers who have a full time job, families, and other obligations.
So, even if you aren’t a caregiver like me, maybe you’re just busy, you can still be serious about your writing. Pinterest is great. Blogs are great. But, no one else can tell you how much writing a day you have time for, and how serious you are about it but you.
Don’t be boggled down by Tweets where writers boast about their 6,000 words today. Your 1,000, or 500 or even 200 words is just as valid. It’s not about the numbers, it’s about what you put on the page.
It doesn’t do to write 6,000 words to be deleted, but those 200 might be all that you keep.
Keep writing in your own time, on your own schedule, by your own set of rules.
You can do this.
xoxo,
Ellie,