November wasn’t great for me. I failed NaNoWriMo, barely surpassing the 16K mark. My kids and husband got sick, twice, and I had my own medical stuff to deal with. On the plus side, I did manage to potty train my son, so no more pull-ups for this squirrel. Thank goodness. I’d much rather deal with the occasional accident at night. All-in-all, I survived, but I spent most of the month grumpy.
But all the excuses in the world won’t refute the fact that I’m falling behind. I wanted to have Murder Most Fowl finished and out this year. That’s not going to happen. I wanted to finish Isto and get that out next year. That’s not looking good. It wouldn’t be so hard if I could write while distractions clamored about me. If I could write while my children demand my attention, while the project manager calls me in the middle of my lunch, while my husband relays the events of his workday. But that would cheat both sides. I wouldn’t be dedicating my focus to what I should be doing, and my writing would reflect my distraction.
So when it comes to the IWSG question of the month:
In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?
The answer is right smack where I am presently. I doubt I’ll ever have a career in writing anything but code, and honestly, I’m okay with that. I enjoy being a programmer. But in five years, I should at least have another two books done. Maybe 4 if I’m lucky.
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Murder Most Fowl sounds like the read for me. Even if you did fall behind in November you were still probably far ahead of me.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Well, I wouldn’t beat yourself up too much, Loni, you’re a great mom and wife and family should always come first. 16K is an accomplishment and 16K more than you had in October. Kudos!! It’s also cool that you enjoy your day job. The books will get written when the time is right and will be well received when we get our hands on them 🙂 Keep doing what you are doing and enjoying life – without the illnesses, obviously. Well done for potty training baby squirrel! Have a lovely December.
I’m with Nicola – don’t beat yourself up. Raising a family while working is a lot for anyone to manage, let alone writing on top of that. I can’t wait to read Murder Most Fowl – I love the title!
Writing and working and handling a young family is hard. Stupidly hard. I like to imagine that as the kids get older and more independent I’ll have more free time, but right now I’m in pretty much the same boat as you. I have big goals but no guarantee I’ll reach them!
Keep on keeping on. We’ll get there!
Hang in there, Loni. Everything will work out for the best. As long as you’re happy doing what you’re doing – coding, writing, whatever – that joy will come through in everything. 🙂
I’m sorry you spent most of the month grumpy, but in my humble opinion, having come up with 16k words when dealing with sick family and self, and potty training, and a career is pretty damn impressive.
And it’s all right if it takes a little longer than planned to get stories finished and released. They’ll be worth the wait. 🙂
Maybe it’s something in the air because I was sure grumpy too. Kudos to potty training! I am feeling better today too and. I wish us both luck! Let me know if you ever want to bounce around ideas 🙂
Even if you’re getting a little done, you’re making progress. Keep on moving forward. You’ll get there! And way to go on the potty training. I was so happy when the pull-ups were gone from my house forever.
I’m sorry November wasn’t a good month for you. I sure hope that changes this month and for 2017. I have my fingers crossed that Murder Most Fowl and Isto will come out next year. I can’t wait to read them. 🙂 Hang in there.
I’m gonna echo everyone else here. 16k is great progress with all the stuff you had going on.
Haha! Falling behind. I’ve heard that from so many people in the past few months. You are in very good company. Glad everyone is feeling better and so happy about the potty training. (I’ve blocked that part of my life out.) You’ll get MMF done. And soon. Don’t put pressure on yourself because of a date. As far as writing while distracted? Pfft. Never. Not ever. Once. Hugs to you, lovely lady. 🙂
Hey I’ve seen your writing, so I bet that 16K is better than a lot of other 16K words that were written in November. And that far surpasses my output for the month. I’m betting you hit that two books finished in five years with ease.
Sorry you’ve fallen behind.
I enjoy what I do and probably won’t ever move permanently to author. Unless I’m still writing when I retire.
Loni, family always comes first. It did for me: I only started writing after my kids grew up. Your determination to write despite the odds commands my deepest respect. Best wishes for your writing goals and your family happiness.
I don’t think you failed at anything. You’re a mother, a wife, a worker and a YOU. You only have so much time in the day… it sounds like through all of the crap November threw at you, you’ve still managed to write, which is a *huge* win.
Here’s to a better December and working towards goals for next year. So, your books may not be out as early as you intended. You’re still planning on releasing them, right? Yeah, you are. And that’s all you’ve got to worry about.
Funny, once I started Dancing Lemur Press, I knew I would be a better publisher than I was an author.
Aw, I don’t think you failed NaNo, Loni. 16K in a month–especially a month where you had so much going on–is amazing.
Writing is what we love, but it’s also a job. We should never feel ashamed for putting our lives first occasionally. Being a mom and a wife can’t always wait, but the words won’t go away. You did the right thing.
*hugs*
Sorry, you guys had a crappy month. Hope you all are feeling better. Sounds like you doing good where you are right now and that’s okay. Change comes to all of us so one day you may find yourself in a different place and having slowly built yourself to it rather than struggling to get there. Geat post. Happy Holidays.
Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit
Trying to balance a job, family, and writing can be tough. 16k words is still an accomplishment, and I’d say potty training your son is an even better one! I hope your family stays well this month!
Congrats on the potty training! That has to be a big relief. So sorry you had more sickness to deal with though. You squirrels have definitely had more than your share of troubles lately. Here’s to a much better December for all of you!
I’m exactly where you are. This time last year I promised I’d get 4 books out this year. Why not, as 2 had already been written, so I only had the 3rd and 4th to write: a novella and a novel. So here it is, a year later, and the novella spiraled out of control and is an unfinished novel, and 4th book is barely outlined. And I have no family and no job to distract me. Only the inability to keep up with writing and trying to get people to review or buy the two that came out this year. It’s not going well, which is about 10 times better than when I put out my first book, so that tells you how useless my efforts at marketing/advertising are. But I’m hanging in there, and you will too. Just tell the stories you want to tell, and don’t worry about how long it takes. Wishing you a great weekend!
I’m sorry you had a rough month, and I’m right there with you. >_< I can never get enough done, it seems, and I you have a lot more demanding your attention than I do. But a slowdown is not a stop, as I keep trying to tell myself. Here's hoping we both can pick it up and do more.
…totally typoed that. >_< Supposed to be "and you", not "and I you".