Pulled a hundred different directions...

My biggest frustration is trying to find the time, place, and solitude for writing. I am part of the "sandwich" generation in the midst of a large, loving family, ranging from 6 young grandchildren to aging parents; I teach my Misty Hill Lodge Writing Workshops on a monthly basis (at least); and I am always juggling the demands of being a regional advisor for SCBWI. Mix that in with the normal rigors of maintaining an old house and 6 acres of land, and my writing time is the part that suffers the most.

However, hope is in sight. My 10 x 10 foot writing cabin is well underway. This photo is not quite up-to-date, but is close enough to give you a glimpse of my soon-to-be Hemingway Hideaway. The exterior is complete, and my dear husband is working on the interior. When finished, there will be electricity, heat in the winter, and breezy cross-ventilation in the summer, but no internet access and no telephone. Once inside, I may never be coaxed out.



Stay tuned for more photos when complete...

¡Ay-ay-AY! What about me?

Writer's block? Not such a thing for me.

Artist Salvador Dali's eyes are fixed on me.

Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos rows around me.

My wicked sister asks, "Is that the book about me?"

The Jewish girl, who wants to be a nun, cries, "Me! Me! Choose me!"


I choose, pointing to each and saying,

"Tin-marín-de-los-pingues-cúcara-mácarara-títere-fue,"

leaving the others with their hands up!

Tempus Fugit

My biggest frustration with my writing/illustrating career of late has been time - or more accurately, the lack of time. Visiting schools, preparing for conferences, and trying to keep up with business-related emails can easily fill my days and weeks. Before I know it, a month has slipped by and I've done little, if any, new writing. Add to the equation that I'm a very slow writer who needs plenty of time to think and rethink his ideas, and the result is an output of writing far less than I would like.
I heard an author once say that successful writers don't have the time to write, they make the time to write. I know that's true. And so I find myself balancing the necessary non-writing aspects of being an author (many of which I love) with making time to actually write, and wishing that my days were an extra three or four hours long.

Juggling without gravity

There’s levity
in gravity—
toss
       and
              catch,
toss
       and
              catch—
happy rhythm.


                                                              return.
                                                        of
                                            promise
                                       no
                               with
                         up
                   fly
            balls
      now
But


I dig down
pockets deep
in search of hidden orbs,
and look up
magic sleeves
for scarves of endless hope.

---

This round we are posting about our frustrations in our writing/illustration careers. I am having trouble holding steady when much is shifting and beyond my control. The rules of gravity seem to be changing. I completed an author/illustrator project only to have the publisher (Tricycle) killed and the book remain unpublished. I delivered interior artwork for another book, yet half a year later still wait for everyone to sign off on the jacket. This book has been postponed. On a third author/illustrator project, I delivered information my editor requested more than four months ago. The book was supposed to be done in July, but the editor has been busy and I’m afraid this project will also be postponed. These are a mere three examples among others. I’ve eagerly thrown ball after ball in the air but they just aren’t coming back. I’m discouraged.