Revising Goals and Expectations

Over the last couple of nights I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I’m sure part of it is due to the crazy summer storms racking havoc in my desert home town. The electrons in the air have not only me, but also my whole family feeling restless. With this comes long hours of lying in bed, eyes closed and my mind fully awake.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a half awaken state of mind I find my thoughts wonder to topics I normally don’t consciously think about on a daily basis. One of the topics my mind likes to wonder to frequently during these times are my writing goals and expectations.

Lately, I’ve been wondering if I’m truly meeting or able to live up to the expectations I’ve made for myself as an author, editor and mother. It seems more and more demands are put upon us as writers, and even as editors, however the days are not longer so we sleep less. With this comes not performing at our desired levels with less sleep so how do we balance these demands… expectations? Then you add in family life and it seems there is no time left in a day to get everything done you need or want to accomplish, let alone good quality sleep. This can leave us feeling defeated, depressed, burnout…among other feelings as well.

I recently read a blog post back in June about writer’s needing to take time out and relax. The post really got me thinking about how I haven’t taken a real vacation in two years. I also started realizing my personal writing goals keep being put on hold as demands to expectations I’ve made for myself and freelance work keep growing. Talk about a combination for writer’s burnout or just feeling overwhelmed with life.

I do feel my life feels meaning full, but I realize I’m not taking time out for me. I’m not setting goals or expectations of better health. This isn’t a good thing. So as I laid awake these past few nights with my mind wondering onto all the things I need to do, would like to do and have accomplished so far, I realized the only way to get some down time was to cut back. Or in writer terms…REVISE my life, goals and expectations.

I’m not sure what changes I’ll be making but revising my goals and expectations will be one of them.

World of Ink Interview with author Judy Snider and Illustrator Cady B. Driver

Judy Snider , Joan’s sister lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband, Gil, and two silly cats. She is the author of the CWA award-winning children’s picture book, Goldy’s Baby Socks , and on a team of authors of The Scared Purse . The Writing Mama Interview with author Judy Snider VS: What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Judy: It is easier now that my kids are in their 20’s and out of the home. I get up very early, and some of the best writing I do is in a sunny place with a glass of water or coffee and my silly cats nearby. When my oldest was a baby, I took a write-away-course, and would write when he took his naps. Some of my best writing was at a table while I waited in those days for them at parties, video arcades, etc. I work out of my home on projects, so working with my sister on our latest book, and the phone usually did Cady Driver, our illustrator. VS: How long have you been writing? Judy: I wrote my...

Interview Friday: Natasha Yim & Gretchen Maurer

Natasha Yim is a children's book author and freelance writer. Her first book, Otto's Rainy Day was published by Charlesbridge Publishing in 2000. It was selected as a Kids' Pick of the Lists. She has written for Highlights for Children, Appleseeds and Faces magazines, and her new picture book biography, Cixi, The Dragon Empress was released by Goosebottom Books in October 2011. Gretchen Maurer's writing has been published in Frances Mayes' The Discovery of Poetry, and in Adventure Cyclist and Highlights for Children magazines. She also co-wrote a short film, Alma, that has won multiple awards. Mary Tudor, "Bloody Mary" is her first picture book. She lives in Northern California with her family. Natasha Yim’s current book, Cixi, The Dragon Empress and Gretchen Maurer’s current book, Mary Tudor, “Bloody Mary” are two of the six books (all written by different authors) in Goosebottom Books’ series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames. The seri...

Meet the Hosts of the World of Ink Network on the What is Success Show

The What is Success show is on the 1st Wed. of every month with host Virginia S Grenier. Each month the show touches on different topics about the movie, publishing, marketing and even inspirational worlds around us. The guest each bring their own view point on what makes people success in their careers and life. This month listeners will get to meet the Hosts of the Featured World of Ink Network here on Blog Talk Radio. The hosts from WOI will share not only about their different shows, but also the other projects they are working on outside of talk radio. We will be joined by Marsha Casper Cook from A Good Story is A Story; Rj Jefferies from The Write Step; Irene Roth from Families Matter; Willow Cross and Tracee Ford from The Paranormal Hour; Virginia S Grenier from The Writing Mama and Stories for Children; and lastly Bennet Pomerantz co-host and new WOI host. Learn more about the hosts and our network at http://worldofinknetwork.com Read articles, dis...

VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

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