Back in the days when my children were in diapers (and believe me, there were several in diapers at one time – there were eight little kids running around the house who were all different ages!) It seems like there was never an end to baby diapers and bottles back then, but a few years passed by and it all faded away. Those same little ones back then are now producing babies now, and the diaper and feeding saga is on once again! And Grandma is taking the slack off these tired, bedraggled mama’s who just don’t measure up to the kind of mama I once was years ago! And one or two of these mama’s only have one baby to care for – I had eight!
Looking back – that was over twenty years ago, I spent at least four hours a day writing stories, and submitting them to different markets. Rejections were constant but in the midst of all those rejection letters, I received hundreds of published pieces – most were paid in copies but that was a good thing. With over six hundred published credits in two hundred or so small press publications – it sure looked good on my writing resume – the clips added up! Between the dirty dishes and dirty laundry, sick kids and washing cloth diapers out by hand and hanging them on a clothesline in the sun, I found time to write. I made time to write.
This Grandma is still tending to kids when I can and pursuing a career in writing like there is no tomorrow! Why? Because it is what I do – it’s what I have always done for many years. Writing is my refuge, my strength, my way of life. Take it away from me and you might as well put me out to pasture because writing is my pressure valve! Tending to kids is another part of my life that I love to do… but just not anyone’s kids! They’re either mine or my grandchildren – there isn’t enough time for any others, I’m afraid.
Writing is a wonderful talent and a great way to earn money – in different kinds of ways. I write press releases, ad copy and things like this every day of my life for a variety of reasons – I don’t always get a byline for my work but still earn money from it nevertheless. When there is time, I write for a variety of markets and earn a little cash here and there, as well as a credible byline and a published clip. So I am still writing – it’s just a different way of earning money from it.
The nest is empty these days and the grand kids come at least three or four times a week – I make time for them in spite of my work. If they call me and need me for something, they know they can count on me if I am the only solution. At the same time, I make time to write as well. That’s what we writers do – we make time. This Grandma might be getting older, but she hasn’t stopped writing and probably never will. With the dawn of disposable diapers and all the new-fangled gadgets that are supposed to make our life easier, why can’t these new-aged mama’s find time for extra activities like writing? If I had had some of these things back twenty five years ago, there’s no telling how many books I would have published by now! Or how many I would have completed.
At the present time, this Grandma is editing four completed novels and a reference guide for writers – my plan was to have them on the market by the first of last year but I am behind schedule and will bump it up to next year. In the meantime, I am working on two new novels and a variety of articles for a series of travel websites and markets. That’s what I do everyday of my life – I write. That’s how I stay sane – I write!
And in order for you to become a professional writer with published clips under your belt, it’s time to write like there is no tomorrow! Don’t wait till you’re a grandma – what’s wrong with right now? The babies have to nap sometimes. Why not then? Get up an hour earlier and write for thirty minutes and breathe in the fresh morning air another thirty minutes – free your mind of the cobwebs and the excuses that hold you back.
There’s no time like the present to start writing that short story you want to submit to that contest or that romance suspense novel that’s been bouncing around in your head for the last few years. Start writing now!
Write with the savvy or a mama at war to tackle the day jobs or with a grandma savvy that gets the job done! Just write!!!