Finding writing advice in life: What my sniffling baby taught me

Every mother knows that a sick baby is not an easy baby and makes for a very unhappy mommy. Now, make that mommy a working mom that is trying to juggle a job in addition to caring for her sniffling child. That is where I’ve been this past week. My baby girl has been battling a nasty case of a runny nose. At times she has found it difficult to breath and nothing could make her remotely happy but me holding her and rocking her. And to make matters worse, this was her first cold. I’ve hated seeing her go through this but I always try to learn from every situation. Even as my daughter is sick, I found some “writerly” wisdom out of those sniffles!

For writer’s, our manuscripts are like our babies. We give them life, we spend so much time with them and put our heart, souls and yes, even tears into them. Just like our real babies, our manuscripts also get sick. We must care for scenes that just don’t fit. We have to rework missing plot points and fix character arcs.

And just like I was proactive with my sniffly little one by keep her inside, away from other germs while her resistance was down. I also am proactive with my manuscripts by outlining and catching plot holes before they become a gaping hole that can destroy the book entirely.
Like a sick baby, writing takes care and patience. Nothing is better when we can release a sigh of relief when our baby is well or when that scene is fixed. It amazes me how much “writerly” advice can be found from everyday life, all around us. What have you learned lately?


Announcements:

I will be hosting a live webinar on September 26 6:30-8 PDT with Farm Dogs USA titled ‘Caring for Special Needs Dogs.’ My lecture will be based off my book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ along with new research. Click here for more information.

I’m teaching a Write It Forward Workshop titled, ‘Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind’ online in October. Click here for more information and to sign-up.

If you are a writing mom I encourage you to visit the #WriteMom community of Twitter. Share your joys, successes and stress with others writing moms. Learn more here.