#amwritinginbetween I hope

I am not a full-time writer. I have a full-time job, I volunteer (a lot), and Life occurs, so I don't consider myself a full-time writer. But I am a professional writer, both in my Day Job and in my fiction job. I'm a business person and I am a professional in that I know my craft and I do my job and I think I do it well.

I have to #writeinbetween everything else that goes on in life. This is true for most authors unless you're like Nora or others who can block out their day to write and have minions handle the rest of life. It really doesn't matter if you work a day job like I do. That sucks up 50 hours of my week, but other writers have other activities that suck up their lives, too.

This month was a lesson for me in #writinginbetween, because I had to write in between pain. I had a hip replaced and that's a Big Surgery. I was mostly inert for 2 days, used a walker for 4 days, a cane for a few days, then a week after surgery, I was up and moving pretty much okay, albeit slowly.

I'm a naturally active person. I normally score 10K-15K steps a day, no problem. But this recovery has sure make 10K steps a goal, not a reality. I'm getting 6-8K a day and I strive for 500 steps an hour. If I sit for long periods, I get stiff, so that's a good goal.

I found that probably through a combination of drugs and pain, I didn't do any writing, which was expected. But it's been surprisingly hard to sit down again and focus on writing now that I'm really in recovery with no drugs and pain that's manageable. I'm working on a book that I want to finish my mid-year, so I need to write a chapter a week. I'm reviewing the 10 chapters I wrote before I was sidetracked and I'm ready to launch into new work.

I need to find that rhythm again for writing, get back into that headset of "let's sit down and get some work done. Forget about the pain and the stiffness, let's do this." The words are coming, but boy, is it slow.

So here's to all of us who have lives that get in the way. Keep chugging away at it, a word at a time. We'll get there; it's a marathon and we're in it for the long haul. Take plenty of breaks and know that you can do it.

#amwriting and #amwritinginbetween

J L
(jayellwilson.com)