Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Priorities

As any individual who lives and breathes can attest, there are times in our lives where we are forced to sit down and face priorities. I love writing...I love words...I love a good story that lets me delve into a whole new world and to go places that I would've never imagined before. I love the thrill of the hunt to create a character and make him leap from the page (or sometimes fall flat on his face off the page).

As much as I love all of this, there are times that I can't put as much energy and devotion into the creative process. This is one of those times. Write now I have a sweet, little, highly-active daughter and an incredibly patient and supportive husband that deserve more of my time and attention. And to be honest I have very little energy at the moment to let my writing compete with my family.

So I have been forced to take a step back on only work on my writing, at most, one day a week. Sure it slows down how many stories I can submit to publishers and magazines and how much time that I can focus fine-tuning my novel so that it reads more like a novel rather than a rough draft. I will not give writing up. It is too much a part of who I am . . . and it seems that people actually like to read my stories (go figure), but if I am to become the world famous author I dream of being I have to take time to regenerate my soul and recoup who I am.

You may ask..."well what does that have to do with struggling authors everywhere?" I just want to say that everyone should make sure to take time for yourselves, be kind to yourself, and treat yourself right and you will find that your writing improves dramatically.

Don't give up hope and keep your pen to paper when you can. Who knows . . .your life's struggles might just become the next best selling story the world has been waiting for. Good luck!