Monday, July 15, 2019

#IWSG - Writing in the summer or How to legally ignore your children.

For some, it's always difficult to carve out time to write. There are always a hundred or more things we need to be doing and writing seems to take a backseat.



Then...summer break from school arrives.

There is a constant buzzing noise going on in your ears.

It's your child(ren).

They want [insert food/attention/time/a ride/permission/attention/answers/food/attention/etc. here].

Again and again.

So, how can you balance your writing with your family?

Bribery. It's an old-fashioned notion.

Promise the park. Promise new books. Promise fast food. Promise ice cream. Promise the movies. Promise cash.




Do whatever it takes to get a few hours to yourself and write those words.

Okay, maybe that's not the best advice, and, honestly, kids aren't cute and young for long, so do your best to balance the time you spend with your children and the time you need to write.

***

Interested in our next Twitter event? Use this LINK to get more information!


The next #IWSGPit  will be in January 15, 2020
8:00 am - 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time

 
***
 
Our annual anthology contest is now open! Use this LINK to find all the details!

The 2019 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions!

Guidelines and rules:

Word count: 3500-5000

Genre: Middle Grade Historical – Adventure/Fantasy

Theme: Voyagers

Submissions accepted: May 1 - September 4, 2019  

Need some clarification on the genre?
Middle grade – suitable for 9 – 14 year-old children.
Historical – it must have historical aspects and be set in a time before 2000 or earlier. It just needs to be set in the past. Adventure/fantasy – the subgenre can be either adventure OR fantasy. The fantasy genre is acceptable as there are many ancient cultures and times that believed in supernatural occurrences.

13 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Bribe them because locking them in a closet is illegal. LOL

Tyrean Martinson said...

We do need the balance between writing and life, and our kids are really gone pretty quickly - or at least it seems so when they reach graduation and get ready to fly. Enjoy the kid moments and the writing moments.

Heather M. Gardner said...

L. Diane - They frown on the closet thing. Can you believe it? :)

Tyrean - It's never easy.

Juneta key said...

LOL, you made chuckle. Good points.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I imagine it's a balance writing and entertaining them.

Pat Hatt said...

lol or just shove em in front of the TV. That can work too.

Patricia JL said...

This is why I don't have kids. They don't exist so they can't take my writing time away. ;)

Elizabeth Seckman said...

My kids aren't little anymore, but they're still cute and when they are home, they definitely interfere with my writing time. My solution? Stay up a bit after they go to bed! Bribery has also been used a time or 10,000.

Charly said...

While my child is now a grown 27-year-old who reads my work and offers editing suggestions, I loved reading this. And some of the comments are hilarious. On the serious side of things: those of you who can write when you have small children running around are amazing superheroes!

Heather M. Gardner said...

Thanks for the comments. It's nice to know I'm not alone. :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Love it! I always found bribery with a fun outing worked the best :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

They do grow up fast. I skipped sleep when my kids were younger, writing well into the night. I did a lot of writing at baseball games also. LOL

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Gads, I didn't realize it's illegal to ignore them (grandchildren, in this case) I just figured I was a horrible grandma. Until I bought a box of freezies. I even purchased the little sponge handles. Thanks for the help!