A few weeks ago, when I was amidst my muse-on-fire, 12k-words-in-5-days phase, my husband looked at me and said "I'm kind of jealous of your writing."
*sigh*
It had been a particularly writerly day because I'd had my RWA meeting that morning, which means he was on kiddo duty for a couple of hours, and we were coming off a week where I really had been buried in my laptop. So of course I felt awful.
My husband works long hours and travels a lot, so I definitely don't want to waste the little time that I have with him with my head in my story. But at the same time, this also means I get very little child-free time, so it's tempting to sneak in some writing when I have daddy here to help out.
But in the end, I decided to back off on writing in the evening time. I also am going to get a bit of relief because the kiddo started part-time daycare last week, so I'll get three mornings a week to myself (although, a good bit of that will be spent on housework, bleh.)
So the question I have for you is--how do you find the balance? Until you're paid for it, most people (even the most supportive family members) will see writing as a hobby. However, in order to succeed at it, you have to treat it with the dedication you would give to a career. My husband is my biggest cheerleader, but I guarantee he's happier when I tell him I spent the morning cleaning out a closet than when I announce I wrote 3000 words.
So have any of you found the secret? How do you focus on your writing without falling into the cave? How do your loved ones view your writing?
