The following article first appeared in Windy City’s
fall/winter issue of Blowing Kisses.
Permission granted to forward to sister RWA chapters with proper credit.
Writing Interrupted:
Setting Realistic Goals While Your Career Is On Hiatus
by Anita Baker
A new baby in the family. Aging parents. Going back to college. Rejoining the workforce. Life constantly presents us with new challenges, some anticipated and welcome, some not. Sometimes these challenges demand all of our physical, mental, or emotional resources, leaving us too little time and energy to write on a regular basis.
My writing schedule of thirty hours a week was sharply curtailed three years ago when I had to go back to work full-time. I still rarely write. How do I keep hope alive and set realistic goals when I can’t find time to write? Preparing this article has allowed me to reflect on my experience and offer a few tips:
Keep your priorities straight: Unless you’re under contract, your writing is not as important as offering aid to your family or finding a means of contributing to your own financial support. Lower your expectations of how much you may be able to accomplish. Trying to be a super-hero will only lead to frustration and a sense of inadequacy, and it’s useless to beat yourself up over a situation that is beyond your control.
Your Windy City friends may not understand at first how your life has changed. They may make comments that are meant to encourage, but in your fragile state may sound like criticism, leaving you feeling that you’re not doing enough to achieve your writing goals. Be as patient with them as you should be with yourself. It’s a hard adjustment for them, too. They may have to find another critique partner, or another roommate for the National conference. Let them know that their friendship continues to be important to you. Eventually, they too will come to accept that this other challenge is more important than your writing career at this stage of your life.
Recognize that all situations are temporary. This one is, too. Prepare for the day that you will be able to write again. Stay as active in your Windy City chapter as time allows. Sure, you may feel awkward that you’re not actively writing. Attend the meetings anyway. You’ll come away feeling inspired and reconnected. And you may learn something about changing market trends, new publishers, new agents. At home, you may not be able to find an hour in your day to write, but you may find fifteen minutes to read your Windy City e-mail or a few pages of the RWR.
Two friends of mine who were once very active in Windy City have dropped their membership. When I asked why, they replied, “Because I’m not writing anymore.” It’s their choice, of course. But have they renounced writing? Do they plan to never write again? How can they be sure? In my view, being a writer is like being a Marine. There are no ex-Marines, and there are no ex-writers. Because I have written in the past, and because I still wish to write, I am still a writer and always will be.
So, for now, this writer will continue to stay connected with Windy City, in preparation for the day when she will be able to write again.
Anita Baker sold her first manuscript, That Certain Sparkle, to Kensington Precious Gems in 2000. A past treasurer, secretary, and vice president for Windy City, she has been an active member since 1996.