So, I have a confession to make. I haven’t written a word since my daughter was born. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did some edits, but I haven’t written anything new. I’m pretty sure this leaves me unqualified to be giving advice here.
Fortunately, being qualified has never been a requirement. Just evil. So here I am.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t occasionally ask for advice from our minions… er… readers. So, how do you parents out there (or other busy people… babies certainly don’t have a monopoly on making you busy) manage to squeeze time in to write?
There are so many other things I feel like I should be doing instead of writing, but I also feel like I should be writing. Certainly the characters in my head think I should.
So, how do I make it work?
Honestly, I didn’t really get into the business until Mini-me was 5. I was writing before that, but I wasn’t published until 2010. So, my advice is based on toddlers/pre-schoolers/etc more than babies.
I became a late-night writer. Which was great because I’m a night person…until the kids started school. Then I died because school=early mornings. Late nights & early mornings don’t go well together. So, many years later, I’m still trying to readjust my schedule.
Thus, my first piece of advice is this: Don’t get used to a schedule because it will change. If you can, write whenever you have a spare minute, even if it’s just a line or two. Doing that will keep you from developing a schedule that you might find it impossible to keep later on.
To go hand-in-hand with that, now/soon you have this glorious thing called “nap time.” Once you are all healed up and baby is sleeping through the night, take advantage of nap time–by writing. The good thing is, right now, babies nap a lot, so you won’t fall into the schedule trap.
In a few months, especially as nap time becomes more rigid, allowing like… A Baby Einstein video at some random point during the day is not going to hurt your child or make you a bad mom. Use that (albeit short) time to get some words.
If you’re nursing and can manage it, look into dictation software. (My son was a slow nurser, so feeding him literally took up *hours* of my day and this would have changed everything.) Right now the baby can’t understand what you’re saying anyway, so you can dictate your book while “talking to” your baby. It’s not ideal, but it is an option (especially if you have a slow eater.)
The short version is, it’s a balancing act. Squeeze in words where you can, just like you’re going to squeeze in things like sleep and exercise and a shower. And remember it will get easier…until the kid goes to school and messes with the schedule you will inevitably fall into.
I guess the main issue is getting over that hump of starting again. Ah, inertia. Assuming I ever master that, I’ll start squeezing it in like you suggest 🙂
It’s HARD with little ones, because you are sleep deprived and so completely focused on them. I mean, if you neglect a plant for a few days, either it will perk up with water or it’s dead. Either way, no huge deal. But babies? I wasn’t writing much when my kids were babies. But I was in college when Ryan was born. And I wrote long and complicated papers with one hand while snuggling the baby with the other. I think it’s just a matter of learning to squeeze the writing into the available spaces. Different way of thinking, different way of writing. You’ll get there.