We’re off to the mountains next weekend – all sixteen members of the immediate family. I’m also working on a novel so I’m doing this juggling act of trying to figure out plot and character issues, while dealing with logistical questions for the weekend: Is there room for six cars to park in front of my cabin? How many pounds of hamburger and veggie burgers for the Saturday night cookout? Do we have enough life vests for all the kids when we take the boat on the lake? Do we need two Monopoly sets?

Very few people live in the pristine order and silence necessary for writing.  Maybe you’re not worried about parking six cars or counting life vests and maybe your family isn’t three generations of blended stepkids and grandkids – but you still have bills to pay, rooms to clean, and meals to cook or buy. And probably a job on top of everything else.  As far as I can figure out there’s no graceful, easy way to do all this, live and write. The huge challenge of living and writing is to live as fully as possible so you’ll have something to write about, and yet also find stretches of solitude and silence for your writing.  But sometimes you just have to live in a parallel universe; figuring out hamburgers and your character’s motivation at the same time.

To Do: Next time you sit down at your desk to write, before you do anything else like check your e-mail or sink into that angst ridden state of wondering why was it you ever wanted to be a writer in the first place, jot down 300 words about what you think you should be doing right now. (You can include your own personal To Do list if necessary). Now go back to your story, essay, or whatever it is you need to work on, and write.