Writing on Friday--Planning

Today's the first official day of summer break for our family (sigh of relief blows through the house...). All three kiddos are home (Wait. Did I say that sigh was of relief? haha). Anyway, my deadline is a couple of months away, so I'll need to figure out a good plan to get this book done and spend quality time with each one of the kids. If you're a writer too, chances are you do this from home and face the same schedule challenges. Right?

Admittedly, it's getting easier. Teen Son drives and Teen Daughter & friends are self-sufficient. Elementary Girl, however, still needs her mama pretty much 24/7 :) So I've worked out a plan to be super mom and get the book done while having the time of our lives here at kid central.

First, I've dropped my word count by half. For the past couple of months, in anticipation of summer, I've written and written and written. Now that it's here, I can cut back a little and still make my deadline at the end of summer.

Second, my girls don't roll out of bed until late morning (apple didn't fall far from the tree...), so I need to write in the morning. But my brain doesn't always work until mid-day. Oh, the conundrum! So what I've done is some pre-planning. For ex., last night everyone was sawing logs while I planned out what I'd be working on this morning. That way, I don't have to face the morning with sleepy eye AND a blank page.

Third, when I'm done, I'm done. It's summer, and I don't want to miss it. The word count I've assigned myself is do-able, and if the kids are still sleeping, and I can do more, I will. But once I've hit it, I let myself be free to hit the beach or the ice cream shoppe or whatever.

One caveat, I might be making it easier than it sounds. It's not easy. At all. And if you work full time and write and have a family, this schedule may not work for you. But in the land of laptops,I'm also finding that writing in snippets has become easier. Just last week I sat in the car and wrote during Elementary Girl's piano lesson. The time would have been idle anyway. Bottom line, to enjoy the summer best, you'll need to make adjustments--that fit your family.

On Monday, I'm 'planning' (get it? planning...) to talk about interviewing your characters. In the meantime, have a beachy weekend--wherever you are!