Hello

It feels like it’s been a long time!

We went on vacation. It was a good vacation but we did have to drive 14 hours to get there and 14 hours to get home. And I have four small children.

This means I have been taking a vacation from my vacation ever since I got back. Clothes are piled, toys are scattered, our yard looks like a sad lifetime movie set. It’s been rough around here and I realized, as I made myself do the dinner dishes, that I could probably clean all day, every day, and not be done. I could follow my children around and clean and clean and clean and it wouldn’t make a difference.

I could actually follow myself around and it wouldn’t make a difference. 

And the problem is, I like things clean even though I’m a messy person. 

The other problem is, I want to write books. 

And not clean. 

Or do yard work.

Or make dinner.

Or wash my hair. 

I also want to lay in the sun on the sidewalk and let my kids crawl over me. 

It takes guts to “be a writer.” It takes embarrassment guts for when people stop by and you deodorant is sitting in the middle of the front room floor along with some cheerios, five thousand cars and a small baby. 

It takes guts to ignore emails and facebook and people.com and all other kinds of distractions to write. 

It takes guts to say I am going to do this even if I don’t want to do this. I am going to write and write until I feel like writing. 

It takes guts to say no to people like Carol said. 

But you have to do it. I keep telling myself, writing is important. it’s worth the sacrifice.

List five things that distract you from writing.

List what you are going to do when these things try to distract you from writing.

List all the things you are going to work on with your WIP. Make a plan. 

This is my goal for tomorrow. I am going to be a writer. 

 

Monday. Monday!

Today summer starts for me! Yes! I know! It’s spring.

There are tulips in my yard.

And bluebells.

And tons of cottonwood cotton.

But summer starts for me because tomorrow is my last day of school until fall (maybe even longer).

 

So I will write even harder in my Writing Like a Writer campaign.

 

I heard news on Friday that both my editors want happy novels from me.

Love.

Kissing.

Joy.

Happy.

Happy?

 

I’m not happy.

My novels are rarely happy.

Every once in a while a happy book sneaks through (Signed, Skye Harper–released next month) but anyone who has read my books knows.

😦 😦 😦

 

At first I balked.

I was scared. Still am.

Then I wondered–if I’m writing like a writer, can’t I write my dark, depressed, horrible life novels AND happier things, too?

 

Well, that’s a good question. I don’t know.

But I know I can try.

So that’s what I’m going to do.

 

What does Writing Like a Writer mean to you?