Writer’s Block Cause #4: Obligations

Tip of the Day: Check out the February Scholastic Bookclub Bestseller list! My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours is #4 in Middle Grade! Woot!

I kinda hate to call them obligations but I can't think of a better word for my little darlings. They're not like a sink full of dishes that I can walk right by and ignore until later (and oh yeah, I do that a lot). But dang, I have this book that I need to write and every time I think I can get to it there is something else I need to do! Like, boy scouts, girl scouts, ballet, karate, ice skating, class trips, lunch mom etc. It never ends. Here are the little darlings now:

(Obligation #1, #2, #3, and #4. Ok, I'll stop calling them that right now I swear. At least they're well read, right?)

So what am I doing about it? Well, I generally need to remove myself from the house/kiddos to write but with all of the stuff they need to do (and side note: Whoever said to get a plant before having kids to see what it's like taking care of something was a certified nutball. They are SO not like plants. They want way more than water and sunlight. And they scream and run in circles when they don't get it.) and how many words I'm trying to get done this month (26,000 more. Ugh. I'm never going to make it am I?) I've taken to trying to do two things at once. Take swimming lessons. The other day I took two of the kids to swimming lessons and sat down at the table with a notebook to hand write a scene in my current project. It's hard to write in a muggy pool area by the way, but I had to do it. As I wrote I made sure to occasionally look up and smile, clap, and give thumbs up. Hopefully those gestures all came at appropriate times. We'll see how long I can get away with this type of thing.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action