I was compelled to write this post after a co-worker approached me in the work kitchen and said, “I don’t know how you work full-time, have a baby, and write books. You must not sleep.” Lest I give the impression that women should burn the proverbial candle at both ends, I had to correct her: “Oh, I haven’t written a thing since my daughter was born. And I sleep every hour she lets me.”
This isn’t totally true–I did work on short stories while I was on maternity leave (back when my daughter actually napped…She is not a fan now). And I did work on edits for book #3 (more about this soon), but this wasn’t really “writing” and, for the record, I had to ask my publisher to give me more time (which is something I’ve never done before. I’m not a deadline-misser).
(What is true is that I sleep every hour my daughter lets me. I am in bed before 9 and up around 6 most days. I do not skimp on sleep. )
I have panicky moments of wondering when I’ll ever write a book again. I have a new story in my head that I want to get out, but I don’t know when that will happen. I worry that my excitement about the story will fizzle. But, really, I should take comfort in the fact that the stories really worth telling never fizzle. I started Cherry Blossoms in 2009, set it aside for years, and was still excited about it when I came back to it in 2017.
I used to write a lot on weekends. Now weekends are for errands and family time. When my daughter is awake (which she almost always is during daylight hours), I can barely make a meal, let alone write a chapter.
She has been sleeping through the night for a while, but I still feel like I’m catching up on so many months of lost sleep. I can’t bring myself to stay up late or get up early to write. I think that will change soon though. I’m starting to feel more and more “like myself,” and that means I am getting the urge to work on something again. I have accepted that it will be slower than I want to be, and not always on my terms, and I am okay with that.
REMINDER: I’ll be at the Newport Beach Public Library at 2pm tomorrow to talk about Cherry Blossoms. Come out if you’re in the area!
All worth it;)