Distractions, Diversions and Excuses Be Damned!

I have a small confession to make: I haven't been writing a whole lot lately.

At first I thought it was because I was stressed out due to changes at work.

Then I thought it was because I was overwhelmed with the day to day activities and myriad of things that I needed to get done at home (you know - take care of the girls, do laundry, shower, clean the house, mow the lawn, do the grocery shopping - all that kind of fun stuff).

Then I thought it was because I am planning a roadtrip with the girls soon and there are a few preparations that need to be done before we leave (booking hotels, mapping the routes, making sure Max  cat will be taken care of while we're gone, etc).

Then I thought it was because I was distracted with my newest addiction - the Words With Friends app on my phone.

Finally I realized something - all of those above "reasons" are actually EXCUSES! I was not making time to write! Aha! Now I should say this: all of those times that I wasn't actually writing, I was thinking about writing - but as a wise person once said "You can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first". Ok, maybe not the best analogy but the point is THINKING about writing only gets you so far. I have multiple WIPs (works in progress including a novel and a number of short stories) that need my attention - meaning they need me to sit my butt down in my computer chair in my writing corner on my laptop and actually work on them. I need to get back into the habit of writing everyday. I want to write everyday. I've learned that the process of writing is a lot like life sometimes - one step forward and two steps back. I am feeling pretty damn good that I joined a writers group - but I have missed two meetings (including tonight's) because I couldn't find a babysitter. (That is not an excuse - two babysitters are out of town, two more were unavailable and 1 never returned my call, fyi.)

Writing is necessary to my well-being and integral to who I am - it needs to be part of my daily life (kind of like showering, eating and drinking wine). As I've stated before, it is cheaper than therapy, not to mention a lot more fun.