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.

Interview Friday with J.D. Holiday

J.D. Holiday is the author and illustrator of two children’s books: Janoose the Goose, picture book and a chapter book for six to eight year olds, THE GREAT SNOWBALL ESCAPADE. A chapbook of her short stories called, Trespasses was published in 1994 and she has had short stories printed in literary magazines and numerous articles about writing and publishing published. She is a member of both The Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators, (SCBWI) and Small Publishers of North America, (SPAN.) J.D. Holiday lives in the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania. VS : I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. It is so exciting because you are my first World of Ink Tour Guest. It’s been a fun couple of days and the tour is only getting started. Okay, so I know your children are grown and out of the house, but I’m sure you’ve had to balance your writing life around them at one time or another. I know being a parent and writer can be hard and I find ...

Interview Friday with Connie Arnold

Connie Arnold is an author and poet residing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with her husband, has two married children and three young grandsons. She is the author of three inspirational poetry books. Animal Sound Mix-up is her first published children’s book. Her writing appears in several anthologies, magazines and newsletters. VS: Connie, I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. I know being a parent and writer can be hard. I find myself asking if I am giving my three children enough attention throughout the day. So to start my first question is . . . what is a typical writing day like for you? Connie: Since my children and grandchildren live far away, I don’t have the distraction of them needing my attention through the day, although I’d love to have much more of that! On a writing day, I usually begin first thing in the morning while I’m sitting at the dining room table with a banana and juice. That’s my most creative time. Sometimes I have ...

5 Places to Find Writing Ideas

If you've ever struggled in coming up with creative ideas, welcome to the club. For most writers, discovering new writing projects involves conscious pursuit of their thought trails. But where do start on our quest for inspiration? Here are a few places you can find new ideas for writing: 1. The world around you. Just like a photographer, you must start looking at life through your own personal lens. You will get a tremendous amount of writing material if you start filtering your own experiences. Soon you will start noticing ideas everywhere around you. Very often the muse will come at strange times and from unusual sources, so be prepared. The world is full of surprises that can materialize in your next book or article. 2. Writers’ associations and networks. If you are a professional writer, you probably belong to an association or writer's group. Generating new ideas will feel much easier after meeting other members or attending writing workshops and conferences. You ...

VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

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