Home-schooling is already a full-time job, so how does a mother balance a writing career along with it? There are some specific things that we can do to adjust our teaching lifestyle so that we can also enjoy the talents and passion that the Lord instilled in us.
In my last article, I spoke about the importance of planning ahead – something that even seat-of-the-pants writers can do with just a few focused questions. The whole goal is to jump into your story-world with little preparation once you find time. Tweet This!
Carve Out Time to Write
Just like anyone else who works full time, we have to utilize every empty moment made available to us. Write while your student writes. He doesn’t need you hovering over his elbow. While he’s reading, read books on craft. As he sees you studying, the example of life-long learning inspires him.
This can be a bigger challenge with younger children who have shorter attention spans and need more help with their work, but even these can complete tasks on their own once they understand the expectations. (And self-motivation to finish a task is a prime value in home-schooling!) For instance, a first-grader can develop pictures using tangrams or pattern blocks. Making designs on geoboards or sorting a box of manipulatives into categories feels like a game to them, but it establishes pertinent skills and provides them with some work-alone time. (And some for you, too!)
Because my kids are older, my home-schooling consists of the planning I do at the beginning of the year and morning overviews. A little more for my eighth-graders, a little less for my junior. Even with all the running around that their special classes, co-ops, and sports require, I can usually write for a couple of hours every day. (I know—I feel very blessed!)
But hours of writing isn’t the norm for most folks. I don’t get that either during volleyball season when we spend twenty hours a week traveling and watching games. During the games, I keep score for the coaches, but before, after and between, I sometimes have fifteen to twenty minutes of sit-and-wait.
Out comes one of my most valuable tools – my novel notebook. Sometimes it’s a composition book, sometimes my Ipad, but I always have one or the other. I learned the hard way though, trying to distinguish a story line from the tiny letters scratched on a well-used napkin. I keep a notepad in my car – just in case I find myself without, but my Ipad usually goes with me everywhere.
What about the times when I can’t write? We drive all over North Texas, sometimes for hours to the matches. Shoot, the practices themselves are a half-hour from our house. I feel like I practically live in my car during that period. And even outside of the season, when I actually get to go to my critique groups again, I travel over an hour and a half, one-way, to get to our meetings. Even though I can’t write while I’m driving, I’ve discovered a wonderful app for my Ipad. It’s a recorder with a really big on and off button. I set my Ipad on the passenger seat with the app open as I start my trip. A scene forms while I’m driving and I slap the button and talk it out. Then later that night, I merely type up what I’ve already dreamed. So cool! So easy! And I don’t have to waste any time! Yea!
Your turn: When do you find time to write?