Building new routines – yes, habits – costs us the effort of change. Especially since becoming a parent, I experience each day as a jigsaw puzzle dumped in the middle of the floor. The pieces are not the same size, which is annoying, but each piece belongs somewhere.
Right now, the best place for the writing piece goes in the early morning hours.
Two years ago, with an infant, this wouldn’t have worked for me. Then again, nothing really worked; babies are so unpredictable.
When the lockdown hit, we were all forced into survival mode. The puzzle pieces became many fewer and much bigger – eat, sleep, care for family in your immediate household, (worry for family elsewhere), care for yourself to the best of your ability, keep working somehow, keep getting your kids through distance learning, and that’s about it.
Now, events and day-to-day routines are more established and easier to predict. Now, it’s easier to fit the writing in at the same time each day.
I know, I know; this is the same struggle everyone else has. Finding time, making space, whatever call it. But I think it’s important to reflect on the recent past to keep from beating myself up. Lots of people with creative pursuits have an especially tricky question to answer: Is it worth it? If I don’t get paid, why bother? There are many other productive things to be doing with that hour or two I have.
But in fiction and writing, you have to have the work done before you can offer it.
So I guess it’s time to do it.
Every month, I run a Short Story Club where I choose three stories to read and discuss. We meet online, so feel free to let me know if you want in.
The titles for January are:
"Sonny's Blues," by James Baldwin (1957)
"Everyday Use," by Alice Walker (1973)
"Virgins," by Danielle Evans (2007)
Thanks for reading. Good luck out there.