The Pro's and Con's

For my job, I write each and every day. I'm a copywriter and I love it.

This is a good thing and a bad thing.

The good things:

1) My writing has improved so much since I started that it's unbelievable. The simple act of editing and revising each and every day has strengthened my skills.

2) I'm writing every day. This keeps my writing muscle well-toned.

3) I love my job. I'm writing for a living!

The bad things:

1) The last thing I want to do when I get home is sit in front of a computer to work on my novel. Lately, that's been a big problem. It wasn't always this way...I'm not sure what changed.

2) I don't feel like I have enough time to do the household chores, spend time with the kids, spend time with hubby, and write. Since I try and exercise after work, I usually don't get home until 6:30. That leaves me 3 1/2 hours before bedtime. And time absolutely flies in the evenings!

I told my husband last night that I'm incredibly hard on myself. I've given myself a mental lashing for not writing lately and perhaps that is contributing to the problem. Instead, I think I should just give myself permission not to write right now. But I'm not too comfortable with that, either, because I want to be writing.

I wish I could find the solution to all this. It seems like I struggle with this issue every few months. Maybe I need to quit making it a struggle. Maybe I'm taking myself entirely too seriously and need to take my own advice - to write for the joy of it.

I'm thinking of buying another laptop. The one I have is pretty ancient - I can't use my jump drive on it and floppy disks are so unreliable that I don't want to try and transfer data to my desktop with one. Maybe I'll look into the Alpha Smart. I don't need a fancy laptop - just something to write on and transfer to my desktop. I wouldn't mind sitting on the couch at night while my daughter colors and writing. Of course, when I write at my desktop, she usually drags her stuff downstairs to work next to me. :-) But having the comfort of a soft couch and a blanket with the lights of the Christmas tree surrounding me...ah, yes. That sounds quite perfect.

The kicker is that I really really WANT to write. But it's finding the time. I know we all struggle with it. But if you want to make writing your career, you make time, right? But what else is sacrificed in the meantime? I refuse to put my writing above my family. My daughter and stepson will only be young for so long. I want to cherish these times. On the other hand, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of writing.

Balance is the key! Implementing it is another story!