There is nothing like a bit of peace and quiet to focus on your writing. After a busy day of grocery shopping, picking up the house, and getting my hair cut . . . I never thought I would find the time to sit down today at my computer. But I did get the time and I am happy to say I just finished putting together the 41st issue of SFC Newsletter for Writers.
It is hard to believe this little newsletter (voted one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer’s Digest 2009) is going into its fourth year of publication. SFC Newsletter for Writers (http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/SFCNewsletterforWriters.aspx) is the first publication I started after taking my writing course at The Institute of Children’s Literature (ICL) in 2005. From there I started Stories for Children Magazine (http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org) and finally the parent company Stories for Children Publishing, LLC.
Besides this blog, SFC Newsletter for Writers is also helping me get back into the swing of writing. Even though it is only monthly; sitting down, writing, and editing my newsletter helps get my mind back on track in the writing world. I don’t always write the articles inside, but I do have to write my little opening and do research on the articles I publish, which are all tips for writers. This month I found some of them very motivating and helpful in getting myself back in the writing chair. However, with little ones running around, I do find it hard to hold on to my muse.
That’s what brings me back to my title of this blog post, A Little R-n-R. As a writing mama, it’s not only about finding time to sit down and write. It is also about having the right mood in which to write. Every writer has a different way to find their muse, but I’m sure it’s not having your fourteen year old and five year old fighting over the TV. Or having your newborn crying because it is time to eat. So how do you find the right setting and mood to get your muse to come out?
Well that all depends on your circumstance. I am lucky enough to have family living close by. There is nothing better in this world to children than Grandma and Grandpa. I find if I need a little down time, picking up the phone and calling my mom to have the kids spend the night is just the answer. However, you may not have that luxury. So what are you to do?
Maybe get hubby to take the kids out for some ice cream or go see a movie. If you have some close friends with children around the same age as yours, maybe they will be willing to take them for an hour or two. Of course, if you have a new baby like me, you will not be able to send them off. But that does not mean naptime or an hour after they go down to bed you should not set the right mood for your muse to come out.
Trust me when I say it is hard choosing between catching some Zzzzz’s or writing when only Sabrina is home with me, but I find I sleep much better if I get in a few minutes or hour of writing time. If I don’t, then my dreams become a story fighting to get out of my mind. Waking me up with images and ideas wanting to be expressed on the page. I tend to toss and turn, fighting my muse to catch those Zzzz’s . . . when I know just writing down a few lines, paragraphs will only help me sleep easier.
So tonight, my muse won. I sent the two oldest off to my mother’s house. Sabrina is down for the night and here I am writing. Enjoying the quiet sounds of the night. Getting my newsletter ready for editing and sharing with you my thoughts and progress.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but for now, my muse is ready to share what it has been dreaming about while I’ve been busy being a mom.
Maggie Lyons was born in Wales and brought up in England before gravitating west to Virginia’s coast. She zigzagged her way through a motley variety of careers from orchestral management to law-firm media relations to academic editing. Writing and editing nonfiction for adults brought plenty of satisfaction but nothing like the magic she discovered in writing fiction and nonfiction for children. Several of her articles, poetry, and a chapter book have been published in the children’s magazines Stories for Children Magazine and knowonder! VS: I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today, Maggie. To get things started can you share what you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Maggie: Very fortunately for me, I’m retired and my son left the nest some time ago. That doesn’t mean I have no other commitments, of course. In fact, I’m very busy as a freelance editor, but I do have the privilege of being able to control m...
Hope your muse let you get some sleep after you did some writing.
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