That Writing Life...

Sometimes being an author is like riding a roller coaster. Thrills, chills, climbs, drops, and that horrible line you have to wait in to even get on the ride.

Lately, I seem to be waiting in line. Just six months ago, I was moaning about not having time to write...then one of my boys went to kindergarten and the other to preschool a couple of days a week. Silly me. I thought I would have hours of writing in the mornings and then snatching a bit of time to write or exercise in the afternoons. Well, what I didn't count on was that because they were getting older, they no longer need that nap in the afternoons! Did you hear the screech as my happy-go-lucky soundtrack came to a halt? Yep. I'm lucky to squeeze in four hours of writing a week where I used to enjoy six to eight. Plus, now that they don't sleep in the afternoons, I'm dead tired by the time they go to bed...so I spend my evenings in a foggy haze wishing I, too, could go to bed.

The only plus is that by this time next year, BOTH boys will be in kindergarten (one will be repeating) and I will have 4.5 hours A DAY without anyone here but me, the cat, and the dog (for whom I am his personal slave, don'cha know?). So, I feel like I'm just "waiting" in line for my time to come..

I am, however, able to do other things. I'm able to read a bit more (it's easier to put someone else's story down in the middle of an action scene). I can also edit (not my own work, but other's) while the TV is blaring and kids are shouting.

I envy women who can write a sentence or two between letting the dog out, getting snacks for the kids, making dinner, and...and...and... me, I have to have silence so that I can hear the voices in my head.

What about you? Can you write in bedlam? Or do you need peace and quiet? How do you write with kids underfoot? I know, I could just wait. But the anticipation of having time to write is killing me....

Have any ideas for me? Good time management tips? Anything???

Thanks!

Ericka