What is that saying? Life happens when you're making other plans. And that's sort of what happened to me. March sort of got away from me there, but I'm going to do a better job of blogging more frequently.
Mostly I've been working on edits, trying to catch up on sleep, housework, and other life things. We've had some stress with my husband's job, and the kid is growing like a weed. I've been trying to stay away from spending lots of time on social media, mostly because I have lots of things to do and no time to do them. I still read blog posts and scroll through Twitter to try and stay on top of things, but it's easy to fall behind. And honestly, I hate the feeling that I have to spend hours on the Internet if I need to stay current.
Does that make any sense? Has anyone ever felt that way? Before I had a baby, I would spend hours checking blogs, reading Facebook and Twitter. It's sad how much time I wasted. But once you follow X number of blogs, it feels like you're missing something if you skip a few days. Things happened! Thing you aren't caught up on! You're missing EVERYTHING!
....
It makes me really anxious. Having a baby forced me to stay away from the publishing blogs for a while, and I realized in the mean time I am much happier if I am not reading posts about editors and agents talking about what's hot, what's not, and what will get your name sent directly into the black list. Maybe my mind made that last part up.
It was hard to write with all those voices in my head. Voices that weren't my characters, that is.
So I'm still trying to find that balance, and it's a work in progress.
That's what I've been up to. How about you? How is spring treating you? Have you ever needed to take a break from the Internet?
It's a constant balance between trying to keep up and getting overwhelmed with it all. Good luck, I wish I had an answer! A baby does assert itself as a priority. Good to hear he's doing well.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think your opening phrase was coined by John Lennon.
Thanks! I knew I'd heard it somewhere but couldn't figure out where. It was driving me crazy!
DeleteLife is indeed a constant balance. ;)
Not only yes, but hell yes. I am currently in the midst of having one of those "But why am I blowing all my time on twitter moments" and then I go and blow all of my time on CNN.com (because, you know, North Korea wants to blow stuff up, or at least make South Korea scared).
ReplyDeleteAnd as for enjoying spring? Oh yes. My wisteria are just on the edge of blooming, cue the snow storm... Oh wait, that's Wednesday. So long wisteria, I knew you well.
LMAO that's how our weather is. Everything blooms! It drops almost to freezing! Everything dies and blooms again! Gets colder!
DeleteTrying to write with a 1 yr old - sounds like crazy-making insanity to me. I remember those days. And I rarely wrote even an email. (Social media didn't exist then.)
ReplyDeleteThe one thing to keep in mind is - life will be crazy for quite a while. Then it will settle down. Then it will get crazy again. Then it will settle down. I think I'm in a late-stage settle down period. My son is now working f/t, so I have the house to myself during weekdays, and when I want the car, I drive him to work. (Looking forward to him getting a car; he is saving for that.)
I seem to go in spurts more now. Currently, am working on a major revision of Lock and Key - but I think it will be better for it. If I have the house to myself tomorrow, I will try to get more done - a new chapter, and a revision of an old chapter or two. (Total rearrangement, with some new bits added in. So I need to make sure things mesh up right.) I'm trying to keep up with my HTTS course, while NOT messing up my focus on L&K, because I'm one of those people that can't juggle very well. Not unless you want everything on the floor, that is.
And, of course, I get sucked into the abyss that is Facebook. (But all my friends live there! Whine, whine.)
Then there are the necessary, frequent, shoulder breaks. Not breaking my shoulders, but trying to keep them from staying "broken." :-/
I rarely read blogs, though. Yours is an exception because we are friends. I'm more apt to read them if I've been searching for something specific and find info there. Otherwise, I'm a FB gal with writing tendencies. My goal is to get the revision done before surgery - and ideally, before I visit my folks in June.