Six Days in, and I am Struggling! #NaNoWriMo

We are barely one week into the month that is #NaNoWriMo and I have to admit, this year I am struggling already. It doesn’t help that there is a lot of personal stress happening at the moment, the most recent being a family bereavement. I am still coming to terms with that one, so this is not the place to elaborate. No, right now I am focusing on #NaNoWriMo.

I know it is not imperative that I complete this challenge. I have been doing #NaNoWriMo for four years now, and I did not complete the challenge in 2013, what with having a newborn baby and a wild toddler to contend with. I did complete it in 2014, and I really want to complete it this year. And yes, we have not yet reached the end of the first week. There is time to rectify my lack of word count. And I am not massively behind. I have written almost 8000 words so far… yes, I do believe this challenge might be met after all. Catch up next week, and happy writing, fellow Wrimos!

Being a Writer vs Being a Mother

I am really struggling to write anything at the moment. It is such a strange feeling, because in the space of three years I wrote and published 4 novels and 3 short stories. My Muse was shouting at me constantly so that I always had some form of dialogue or story running circles in my mind, until it was written down. I have notebooks full of scribbled excerpts, blog ideas, story ideas, and even prompts to help me out on occasions like this. Yet with all of this material, I have nothing to say.

What  is this bizarre affliction? Is it writers' block? Is it laziness? Or is it something much more simple; children? Ha ha, that made you stop. Yes, I blame the children. Not that they have done anything wrong, you understand. My biological clock was ticking and so while I was frantically writing my masterpieces of literary fiction (or rather, commercial paranormal fiction), I was also incubating and birthing children. I now have a very active 3 year old daughter, and a very demanding but totally adorable 5 month old daughter.

During the Christmas holiday I took time to rest and recuperate after a very hectic year in 2013. I spent some time thinking about my situation and mulling over my options. Where could I fit in time to write and continue to develop my professional career? Ultimately I decided that it is not feasible right now. Technically I am still on maternity leave, and I have the luxury of a husband whose job pays the bills, so for now I will focus on my family and leave my notebooks alone. I will still write. I intend to develop my blogs more and update them regularly throughout the year. I will also return to my manuscripts and story prompts as and when I find the time and energy. I am still a writer, but I am also a mother, and that is my priority right now.

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