I'm really trying to get more time to write, or I should say, take more time to write instead of all the other things I spend my time on. I've been trying to do it during nap time for my youngest, first thing in the morning, before dinner, after dinner, just keeping the computer on the table all day long and getting to it every second I can. But then I discover something else to distract me and I don't do my writing.

So the other night, I went to bed around 11 and couldn't sleep. Deciding to come downstairs and work on my writing, instead of tossing and turning in bed and accomplishing absolutely nothing, I worked and worked and worked on revising my story.

Things were going great. Finally at about 3 am, I started to feel tired, so I went to bed. I was so proud of how much I got done in those 3 hours after midnight. So much more than all the work I'd tried to do for more than a week before. Thinking I should do it again the next night, I almost did, but felt too tired. I went to bed, and was awakened by my 6 year old at 3 am. He was puking his guts out. (so glad he made it to the bathroom first though.)

I must say I prefer staying up until 3 am over being awakened at 3 am. Vomiting aside, staying up is easier on my mind and body than waking up.

The funny thing about it was listening to the comments my son made about how he hates to go bluhh (our code word for vomit, puke, or throwing up)

Well, enough with the distractions. I'm going to go back to my editing. Gave myself a deadline, and by golly, I'm gonna make it.

I'm in one of those slumps again, where I just can't bring myself to write what I should. Instead, while I'm on the computer, I check my blog, check other writer's blogs, check email, watch hulu, or check Facebook. I really think I need to ground myself from the internet during my writing time. That is what I will do today. Once I'm done with this, I'll shut down the internet and write. Then I'll be so proud of getting something done with my computer time. It will be writing time.

The thing I'm struggling with now is that I've received some awesome feedback from some critique group readers that has really opened my eyes to what is wrong with my writing. I'm not a bad writer, but I'm not a great writer, YET! I will get there through hard work, and lots of revisions. I kind of want to take a vacation from my real life, and just go somewhere with no distractions to be able to focus on my work. I know that will not happen, and if I ever want to get my book ready to be published, I've sure got to do the work, around the other things that happen in my real life. I doubt any author out there is able to close themselves away from the real world to write. At least not for very long.

Gonna make a goal to get some real writing done every day. I WILL SUCCEED!

What I love about writing.

What is it about writing that I love the most? I don't know. Sometimes I think it is the sound of the keyboard as the words just flow. Sometimes it is the way I feel about how I expressed one particular thing in just the right way. Sometimes it's the way I go back over something I wrote, edit it, and make it so much better than the way it originally was. Sometimes it's just breaking away from my real life, and escaping into another world of my own creation.

Other times its reading blogs of agents, editors, and other writers and feeling validated about what I'm going through. And how about doing all the 'research' reading to see how another author tells the story.

It is having other people read what I've written and tell me what they like and dislike about it. (After I've put my pride in my pocket of course.)

It's also about doing something that is hard, and painful, and awful, and terrible, and amazing over and over again, and getting different results depending on what kind of mood I'm in. I mean, how many people can go to work and come out with something different at the end of each day. Either the birth of something wonderful, or the death and destruction of something awful, and feeling good about just having done it.

Its the thought that I'm doing something that lots of people really wish they could do, and knowing that even though its hard, I'm still making the attempt.

So AMAZING, yet exhausting at the same time.

Love it!