Wednesday 8 January 2020

Insecure Writer's Support Group #1

I'm new at this. I've been meaning to join in with the Insecure Writer's Support Group for years and never gotten around to it. Well, that changes now.

It's hosted by Alex Cavanaugh, T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff. So, thanks to them.

The only thing I'm currently insecure about is time.

There is never enough of it. Since my son was born there has been so little time. You know that having children means that your life will change, but you'd be a fool to think you could predict how it would change. I knew there would be more calls on my time, but it never occurred to me that I would have almost no time. Last year, I got a job writing for a website, but when I started my son was a largely immobile babe-in-arms. As the months have progressed, he is now an inquisitive little boy who can crawl at speed, pull himself to standing and make quite complicated vocalisations, whilst armed with an increasing number of teeth. All of which is brilliant, but means watching him is a far more involved endeavour than it was nine-ish months ago and therefore there is less time for anything else. I take some pride in the fact I haven't missed a deadline, although I have come closer than usual. I feel some guilt that inevitably he is being ignored in some small way in order to make that possible. I should stress that he isn't being left unsupervised, he is always with a capable adult.

Each month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group poses an (optional) question and here is this month's: What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

I've always wanted to write, initially lots of unfinished short stories as a child, followed by comedy scripts and sketches in my mid-teens and scripts for comic books in my twenties, but I've surprised myself by moving increasingly towards prose and non-fiction as well.

16 comments:

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I totally understand, Dave. I wrote my first novel with 5 sons running around. That was back in the 80s. I didn't sleep for a decade. Welcome to IWSG!

https//joylenebutler.com

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Welcome to the IWSG! Glad you could join us.
We never had kids so I can't begin to imagine how much that takes of your time. You haven't missed a deadline, so you are handling it better than you think.

Jemi Fraser said...

Kids change everything! And they keep changing everything - which is part of their charm. Enjoy and treasure those moments!

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I wish I could write comedy/humor. I do sometimes manage to get some snark into my scary stories. :)

Welcome to the IWSG!

J.H. Moncrieff said...

Welcome to the IWSG, Dave.

It's tough to fit anything else in when you have kids, so more power to you. Try not to be too hard on yourself. The writing isn't going anywhere.

Hang in there!

emaginette said...

As you mentioned, they change quickly. Just as he learned to sooth himself when he awoke at two a.m., he'll learn the word wait. These lessons are important for both of you. ;-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

Nick Wilford said...

Your writing journey almost exactly mirrors mine, except I never wrote comic books.

A young child definitely changes everything - suddenly the whole dynamic becomes about the little guy. That won't last forever, so just try to enjoy it and don't get too stressed over the writing. Welcome to IWSG!

Yvonne Ventresca said...

It can be hard to juggle! I hope you find IWSG helpful.

Sonia Dogra said...

Indeed Dave, with children your hands are always full. I totally understand your concerns. But you are doing good. And I wish you a great writing year ahead!����
Sonia (A Hundred Quills)

Kalpana said...

Welcome to the IWSG Dave and thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.
You are so right about how a child turns your world topsy turvy and nothing can prepare you for how all consuming it is going to be. Congratulations on never missing a deadline despite having such a young child to take care of. It does eventually get better and you will have more time to yourself.

Damyanti Biswas said...

Children do change things and more often than not they help get us a new perspective on life. Keep writing!

AJ Bock said...

Congrats on your child! Keep writing in those precious free moments!

Www.alliebock.com

Ellen Jacobson said...

I'm always impressed by anyone who can write even a little bit while raising a young family. :)

Anne Higa said...

Dave,
Congratulations on your son and on being - I'm sure - a very good parent. Welcome to IWSG!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Time definitely moves faster with kids around. It seems like the older and more capable they get, the more time you'll have, but I found that was definitely not true. Now I'm the mom to two teenagers, and it feels crazy! But I have more time now. It just keeps speeding past.

Lidy said...

Welcome Dave. Being a parent, especially when your child is at that age til the toddler and elementary age, is not easy. But writing time does get better when they're older. At least for now, you can make great use to make up your writing time during nap time.