Checking in and Writing What I Know

E missed three school days last week thanks to a nasty cold, which meant my writing had to take a back seat. Rather than frustrate myself by trying to work on KM while E was actively sick, I turned to a number of shorter pieces that I've been meaning to tackle. One of the first jobs I targeted: a query and five first-draft articles for a new zine that's slated to hit the web soon called Good Days Bad Days.

Talk about writing what you know! The zine will target children aged 5-13 with chronic or terminal physical conditions. Having lived the ins and outs of E's aneurysms for seven years now, I'm confident I can speak from the trenches on this one, and, more importantly, help E to do the same.

In addition to drafting articles for several other writing projects I've been meaning to pursue, I continued work on the presentation J and I are making at the Illinois Library Association meeting in downtown Chicago later this month about teen writers' workshops.

Made Deadline by That Much

Friday I challenged myself to submit a story for a Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology before its September 1st deadline. Despite a parade, a picnic, and an optometrist's appointment, I did it with 15 minutes to spare. Yes! Nothing beats the added incentive a built-in deadline gives a writer. Sure, beating the clock is always good for the soul. But more than that, a fixed deadline gives you permission to write with a defined goal in mind. And the feeling when you've reached that goal? Magic.

A Kick in the Pants and Other Ways to Motivate Your Muse

I keep a variety of tools in my writer's toolbox designed to kick my muse in the pants. Deadlines are one of them. Some are self-imposed. Others come from outside sources by way of a contest, submission deadline, or editor.

Self-imposed deadlines are nefarious in my mind because unless you're a drill sergeant, it's easy to let them slide. Fixed deadlines, on the other hand, are my very best friends. With few exceptions, outside due dates are non-negotiable, despite family obligations, illness, or procrastination.

I work best under the pressure of a fixed deadline. The habit stems from my days as a columnist and before that, from college, where I learned how to write news on deadline. Staring at a blank screen with a deadline looming was unnerving at first. But the consequences of not doing the work on time were so extreme--getting an F for the assignment, for example--that I learned quickly.

Learning how to cage the inner critic and summon the muse at will is good practice for any writer. It's also an excellent way to learn about letting go. Which is why I've given myself a writing deadline for the weekend.

Monday is the submission deadline for a proposed story for Stay at Home Moms and Power Moms, a book in development for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. The market's a paying one and the required length is only 300-1200 words. I'm on it.

Word of the Day

Not yet started on MA because it took me an hour to clean up my inbox and chat with S's speech teacher about concerns for the coming school year. One of the last emails I read was my Word of the Day from Wordsmith.org. Today's word: argillaceous. No clue what it means? It was a new one for me, too. Look it up here. I try to use my word of the day in a sentence the day it arrives in my inbox. This should be interesting. I can't even imagine my characters saying it.

Writerly Celebration--Ding dong the Kids are Gone!

On the walk home from school today, I passed a number of moms lingering outside their cars, chatting about their summers, and celebrating the fact that today was their first full day without kids underfoot.

Said a fellow mom of a child with special needs as we stopped to chat for a few minutes: "A whole day by myself; I don't know what I'm going to do with a whole day."

I smiled, knowing exactly what I'll be doing. Writing. On tap for today: continued discovery of MA, a new story set in the same realm as KM. *Claps hands with abandon.* Can't wait to get started.

Cooking up Tasty Revisions? Toes and Fingers Crossed

E's at school. Errands are done. S is sprawled on the sofa doodling in her sketch pad. Dinner's cooking, thanks to my trusty crock pot and a favorite recipe from Sparkpeople.

On the menu writing-wise: continued re-visioning of my current work-in-progress. Toes and fingers crossed that my muse joins me for this session.

On the menu for dinner: White Bean Chili . It's scrumptious and easy. I add a pound of ground turkey to the pot and voila! instant meal in a bowl.

Summertime, School Days, and Searching for My Muse at O'dark Thirty

Don't get me wrong. I love my girls and the chance to spend the summer exploring and lounging and wriggling our toes in the fresh-mown grass. What I don't love is the loss of uninterrupted writing time our relaxed schedule brings.

Last year, I ensured regular butt-in-chair time despite having my younger two underfoot by launching my Summer Writing Experiment and dragging myself out of bed to write at o'dark thirty each morning. Working on re-visions before the girls needed me was good for my soul and essential for my muse. The daily routine helped keep my characters near the surface so that whenever I sat down ready to work, they joined me without hesitation.

This summer, despite pleading and prodding, my muse refused to join me at my keyboard more than a handful of times during my 5 a.m. writing sessions. It wanted to work mid afternoons which conflicted with our summer schedule. To say that I've been frustrated by this turn of events would be an understatement. Sigh.

E returned to school full-time yesterday. S returns next Tuesday. At the risk of sounding like an ungrateful mom, I'm relieved. Here's hoping my muse is, too.