The ever-tipping scale

And no, I'm not talking about my weight. Since I've taken up with writing again, I find that I have a really hard time finding balance. I don't know how it is for other writers but I'm suspecting it's not as bad for them. One of my friends has to bribe herself with See's candy to make sure she writes her goal amount each day. My brother took five years to finish his first novel because he could never find the time. (By the way an agent requested his full manuscript right after Christmas. Woot!) But me, I can't seem to stop writing. I think about it all the time. I've even had a couple of dreams where I've met some of my own characters. I have to admit, that was very cool, though they didn't look quite the same in 'real life' as I'd pictured them in my mind. Apparently my subconscious needs to straighten itself out.

Okay, back to the topic. What do you all do to find balance? What do you do when you're so into your current WIP that you have to shake your head to clear it when your daughter asks you a question about her homework? Or when your family is eating hot dogs for the third day in a row because you couldn't drag yourself away from the keyboard?

Eating Cake

So, my oldest child--a fourth grader--is pretty smart. He aced the SOL's here in Virginia, with a perfect score in Math and almost perfect in all the other subjects. So, I had to wonder when he brought home a C in Writing on his report card. Especially when he says he wants to be a writer when he grows up. But, I finally figured it out. He just needed to be able to follow his bliss and write about something that interests him.

A few days ago he asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I came up with an idea. I want you to write me a book, I said. He said that he would.

Yesterday, we spent ten hours in the car, going to the temple in Washington D.C. Yes, I said ten hours! (Appreciate that temple 15 minutes away, people.) Five hours up and five hours back. My son wrote the entire time. I couldn't get him to stop. It's a graphic novel about all kinds of mythical creatures. I don't know the exact plot yet because it's a surprise.

The best part of the day was when he walked up to me, beaming, his notebook and pencil in his hand and said, "Mom, writing is the best. It's like eating cake and ice cream all day long. I have such a good feeling inside."

My thoughts exactly.

Hello, Good Morning!

A few months ago, my sleep cycle reversed itself. I used to be a night owl, but now I'm an early riser. I hate it. I like staying up late. I get a few hours to myself after everyone else has gone to bed where I can do whatever I want, Facebook to my heart's content or work on my latest story. Now my mind flicks on right around 5:30 a.m., but my body is still tired. And then as I'm trying to force my body back to sleep, my mind conjures the craziest dreams. I'm spending hours hanging out in that state between consciousness and sleep where you have whacked out dreams that mean absolutely nothing. Or they are barely decipherable but your husband isn't the hottie he was when you closed your eyes; now he's morphed into a fat bald guy and you spend your whole dream trying to figure out how you ended up kissing that guy. Anyway, the dreams are usually very disturbing and not at all exciting.

Until today.

I had a Stephanie Meyer like dream today. No there weren't any sparkly, model type vampires trying to decide whether to eat me or kiss me (I'm so jealous she got to have that dream). But I did have a dream that was write-worthy. The start of a sweet romance, which is right up my alley. After I woke up and it was still only 5:42 I laid there wide-awake, turning my dream into a story. It's going to be so great. I can hardly wait to write it down and turn it into a novel.

I wonder what tomorrow's dream will be like.