By Leslie Lindsay

It’s not the actual writing that’s hard, it’s the fitting-in of the writing that is hard.  I have been going 90 to nothing the last few weeks, and do be honest, I don’t really know what I have to show for it.  Very little progress on my novel, that’s for darn sure!

You’re thinking, “What is she talking about?!  I mean, she doesn’t have a full-time job or anything.”  And yes, I would nod my head politely and smile.  It’s true.  I am a stay-at-home mom.  I have a first grader who is in school for 7 hours a day.  I have a pre-Ker who is in some kind of structured class 5 days a week, but not all day.  I do a lot of driving around town to get her to her various “learning opportunities.”  Even if I did have two kids in school 7 hours a day, that’s still not a full 8-hour work day in which I devote 100% to writing.  Nope.  I still have toilets that need scrubbing, a dog who needs walking, a basement playroom that needs organizing…and sometimes I need to eat and shower.

But I am probably singing to the choir.  You know this.  Life is busy.  So, try as I might, I just can’t find the opportunity to write and it’s driving me bonkers!  I am pounding this out in the 22 minutes before I am scheduled to volunteer in my youngest daughter’s preschool class…but who’s counting, right?!

Not only am I finding the balacing act difficult, I am finding it equally hard to read.  And reading, we all know makes for even better writing.  Waaa..  I am really sounding cranky, huh?

Okay, from my editor at Woodbine House, “Let’s get the complete manuscript off our plates by Jan 1.  Let’s clean up all editorial issues and not add anymore content.  Oh, and remember not to double-space after periods.”  Really??!  That’s going to be hard since I have been trained to do that since I took Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.  No, my editor is actually really pretty great and I couldn’t have done this without her.  But still…when I am I going to get to that?! 

If you’re an aspiring writer, just remember:  write.  Write when you can, even if it means scrawling something on the back of your Target reciept or an expired grocery coupon.  File it away for when you do have a moment to do more with it.  Because, you will.  It’s just a matter of finding an opportunity to write.  The “right opportunity.”