This past week I attended the Dreamin' in Dallas conference where Allison Brennan was one of the headliners. What a wonderful speaker - funny, energetic, interesting. Her workshops No Plotters Allowed and Breaking the Rules to Break In or Break Out, were wonderful and during lunch she gave the keynote on her general writing journey and some things she learned along the way.
None of her talks were directly about how to write three novels a year while raising a family. But I admit, I was listening specifically for that information (the woman is raising 5 kids and writing 3 novels a year!) and found tidbits woven within her talks. So, the information below was gleaned from Allison Brennan's three speeches. My advance apologies to the marvelous Allison Brennan if I misheard, misinterpreted, or got anything wrong, but here is what I learned:
1) All five of Allison Brennan's kids are in school and she works the entire time they're gone.
2)She writes new material at least 6 hours during the day. Then she works again for a while in the late evening when the kids go to bed and the husband is catnapping in front of the tv.
3) She has her kids trained to be independent/self-sufficient and to respect her work time.
4) She doesn't cook. She does healthy, but easy meals.
5) She doesn't clean. She has a maid in once a week.
6) She doesn't watch tv - she'd rather write.
7) She limits her volunteering. She does volunteer but she considers herself a full-time working mom and doesn't try to volunteer like she's a stay-at-home mom.
8)She attends her kids events, but isn't above working when her kid isn't "up at bat" so to speak.
9) And, like Candy Havens, she works the bits and pieces of time she finds - traveling, waiting in the car to pick up kids, etc.
Something that's helping me write today: taking time to learn a few tricks of the trade by attending a conference.
P.S. Over at www.4badmommies.com today, Amy Carson is talking about Guilty Pleasures. Come on over and join the discussion. I confessed to one. How about you?
None of her talks were directly about how to write three novels a year while raising a family. But I admit, I was listening specifically for that information (the woman is raising 5 kids and writing 3 novels a year!) and found tidbits woven within her talks. So, the information below was gleaned from Allison Brennan's three speeches. My advance apologies to the marvelous Allison Brennan if I misheard, misinterpreted, or got anything wrong, but here is what I learned:
1) All five of Allison Brennan's kids are in school and she works the entire time they're gone.
2)She writes new material at least 6 hours during the day. Then she works again for a while in the late evening when the kids go to bed and the husband is catnapping in front of the tv.
3) She has her kids trained to be independent/self-sufficient and to respect her work time.
4) She doesn't cook. She does healthy, but easy meals.
5) She doesn't clean. She has a maid in once a week.
6) She doesn't watch tv - she'd rather write.
7) She limits her volunteering. She does volunteer but she considers herself a full-time working mom and doesn't try to volunteer like she's a stay-at-home mom.
8)She attends her kids events, but isn't above working when her kid isn't "up at bat" so to speak.
9) And, like Candy Havens, she works the bits and pieces of time she finds - traveling, waiting in the car to pick up kids, etc.
Something that's helping me write today: taking time to learn a few tricks of the trade by attending a conference.
P.S. Over at www.4badmommies.com today, Amy Carson is talking about Guilty Pleasures. Come on over and join the discussion. I confessed to one. How about you?
2 comments:
Anonymous said...
OH wow. Thank you for that post - it was awe inspiring. I juggle so much that I realize my writing takes a back seat for all the other mundane tasks and this is a reminder that it's ok to put other things aside for the work. So glad you had a great time at the conference!
Regina Richards said...
Hi Jen,
After hearing Allison speak, I have really been thinking hard about where I am treating my writing with the seriousness it deserves. She was so professional and goal oriented. I was truly impressed.