A day in the life

It is funny how much I thought I was ready for Nano (National novel writing month www.nanowrimo.org) this year.  I think this is the first year since I started, seven years ago, that I actually thought to myself "hey I got this."   I know what I want to write about.  I have my characters names.  I have a notebook full of scene ideas, and little details I want to include.  I know, having done it before, that I can in fact write 50,000 words in one month.  I have never been this prepared to start a novel before.   Never.   Everything was great until I sat down at the computer, fingers poised, ready to write.   And....crickets.  Where are all the words?  Where are all the complete thoughts and the hilarious scenes bursting to get out of my brain and on to the page?   Again, crickets.

Perhaps it is the constant distraction of voices.  Thank you dear daughters for always interrupting when I am just about to hit a pivotal plot point because you have an imaginary cut on your finger.  There is nothing more important to me than that imaginary cut, but since it is not real can it wait?  Once we deal with said cut and your irrational fear of bandaids you need water, or you need me to feed you.  Yes, I haven't forgotten!  There is a stale cheerio on the floor upstairs. Help yourself!  (Kidding, I feed my kids!)

Perhaps it is the glow of social media. Thank you facebook, pinterest, twitter and instagram for always allowing me to be distracted from what I actually want to be doing.  I am incredibly thankful that I can always rely on you to be a total time suck wherein I will wake from a social media slumber to realize I have gotten nothing done, and I have nothing to show for my time.

Perhaps it is my actual life that gets in the way.  Working 3 jobs and running laundry, helping with homework, and running everyone to all their after school activities.  You know what I am talking about.  The daily grind, man.  Don't you hate it when your real life gets in the way and you cannot just read and write all day?  

The bottom line is, I met my word count goal for the last two days. Yay! I fed my kids (the dog ate the cheerio), and now I have the next four hours until they go to bed to engage and play and be present with them.  It is important to me that my girls see that I do things for myself.   I want them to know that dreams are important.  I want them to know that you can have passions and balance your life.  I want them to see me writing.  I want them to know that even if I never get published or recognized that it doesn't matter.  I am a writer at heart, and I write for me.