Writing Romance Novels

TIPS FOR WRITING DURING SUMMER VACATION

If you have school-aged children at home, then you're very shortly going to be enjoying summer vacation with them. Whether you're a stay-at-home mom or a working mom who writes when there's two seconds to rub together, summer vacation can make eking out your writing time a little more challenging. Here are some ideas to help you find and make time to cobble together a sentence or two.

1. Many schools have summer reading lists these days, so institute "Reading Time"-how about during the hottest time of the day, when it's too hot to play outside? For incentive, make a chart for your kids to keep track of their reading: books they want to read, books they are/have reading/read, their ultimate goal, how many pages they've read, how many hours they've read-just a few examples of what can go on their reading charts. Because kids get twitchy, keep the Reading Time to about 20-30 minutes for elementary school kiddos, 30-60 for middle to high schoolers. Tally progress at the end of the week and give the kids little rewards. The rewards don't have to be big or major, a simple Mom-made certificate printed off the computer would work.

2. Get up an hour earlier. For those of you who aren't Morning People (I'm not a Morning People), stay up an hour later.

3. If you cart your kids to and from the swimming pool, and like me, refuse to leave them alone there, take your laptop, Neo, Alpha Smart, Notebook and Pen, and b>

4. Give the kids more responsibility for the upkeep of the house. Assign them an extra chore or two (like doing the dishes, cleaning the bathrooms, folding laundry) or something else you normally do, to free up the time you'd've spent on those chores.

5. If you're a SAHM who writes, write when the kids are playing outside. The housework, laundry and shopping will wait. If you're a working mom who writes, write on the weekend or whatever days you have off, when the kids are outside.

6. If all else fails, grab your laptop, Neo, Alphie, notebook and pen and lock yourself in the bathroom. Turn on the fan to drown out the sound of the kids pounding on the door.

(c) 2009 Laura Hamby

The Water Cooler For Writers