Time to write

People ask me -- How do you find time to write?

--What with your working full time as a Children's Librarian in a public library system. (with all the paperwork and meetings and planning and producing programs that entails)
--What with having a husband to coddle. And an 8-year old child at home -- and all those years when she was younger. The school and athletic events she's involved with.
--What with keeping up with the housework in a 1640 stone house. (12 rooms/ woodstove/ fireplaces/ laundry room much too far away from the bedrooms)
--Two cats and a dog.
--2 acres of lawn, woods, and garden.

hmmm. Once I write all that down, I kinda wonder, myself.

Well, for one thing, I do have a husband, so he takes care of some of this. And we share the care and upkeep of the 8-year old's school, athletic, and scout activities. (I was just reminded that she has a Brownie Court of Awards today.)

Secondly, we don't have cable TV. So I don't waste much time watching TV. Just a few special shows like Numbers and CSI and, of course, The Amazing Race. (8-year old and I are addicted to The Amazing Race. If I wasn't too old and she wasn't too young, we'd both try to become a team on that show.)

Thirdly, I've taken a leaf from other writers and have begun taking my laptop computer to her gymnastic classes and have worked on manuscripts and proposals while she is having fun there. I can't do that at the soccer games, because I know too many of the soccer moms and we sit and talk.

Fourthly, I have a liberal leave at my workplace -- five weeks. So I can take a day here or a week there to either do research, write, or give talks to kids and adults about writing and books. (This isl where I wear both my librarian and writer hats)

Fifthly -- My co-author of the "Busy" books, Mary B-K, (See the Busy books to the right side of my blog, under our pen name C.W. Bowie), urged me to get a cleaning service to help with the housework. And that has helped tremendously. I had thought that cleaning services were only for rich writers like Danielle Steel, but she convinced me that she had used one for years and that it was necessary for our sanity, if we were going to be able to both work and write.
So, once TO FLY was selling strong and I had finally come out from under all my bills, I began with a cleaning service. And she was right! Spiders are now banned from the house. (a big deal with me) Plus, it forces all of us to keep the place neat -- so they can actually find the floor to clean.

Also, since I consider my research trips and my trips to conventions to be "vacations," I do manage to enjoy a well-rounded life while continuing with my writing.

My next scheduled vacation? ALA in June. Will I see you there?
How do the rest of you manage to include writing in your busy, busy lives?
-wendieO