tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100373839462710495.post5743421292378283506..comments2023-11-03T08:19:23.868-04:00Comments on Elizabeth Poole: Return to Normalcy (Sort of)Elizabeth Poolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03214706118828699708noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100373839462710495.post-12300549120007200352012-08-21T16:41:21.694-04:002012-08-21T16:41:21.694-04:00Thanks! People tell me it gets easier once they ar...Thanks! People tell me it gets easier once they are in school--and I am sure it will, once he's at school for a few hours--but I don't want to wait years simply to get a book done. <br /><br />I take my career seriously, and prioritize it like a job, even though it's harder now with the baby. Lucky for me my mom is awesome and I have a good solution. <br /><br />I am so happy you're taking yourself seriously. I know it's still a struggle, but you owe it to yourself. Elizabeth Poolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03214706118828699708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100373839462710495.post-40678289956507595222012-08-21T14:55:51.708-04:002012-08-21T14:55:51.708-04:00Good for you for learning this at the beginning of...Good for you for learning this at the beginning of motherhood instead of at the end. Sometimes I think I wasted years of good writing simply because I felt too guilty to do it. <br /><br />Now that my youngest is about to start school it's easier for me to take myself seriously. The contract helps ;) But I'm finding that in order for others to take me seriously I have to put my foot down. M, W, F are work days--writing, blogging. T and Th will be days for errands and helping friends if they need me. It's going to be hard to tell some of these dear people, "not today, but I'm free on Thursday" but I have to do it. <br /><br />Yep, good for you! It took me 16 years of motherhood to realize I had to carve out my own writing time.Charity Bradfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01960821077619680661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100373839462710495.post-68665485456883473192012-08-21T14:46:49.768-04:002012-08-21T14:46:49.768-04:00I never had issues with this until the baby came a...I never had issues with this until the baby came along. Before I was free to spend my time however I wanted and I didn't have to think about whether it was useful or not. <br /><br />Now, like you said, I have a hard time with the idea of hiring a babysitter or otherwise spending money, when I quit my job to stay home with him. And to pursue my writing, but that doesn't feel real until I get an agent and/or a book deal. Elizabeth Poolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03214706118828699708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8100373839462710495.post-9338454276989410782012-08-21T13:43:11.295-04:002012-08-21T13:43:11.295-04:00Oh man, when the baby was little I was always work...Oh man, when the baby was little I was always working on my dissertation. That didn't feel legitimate either. Eventually, I just outgrew that feeling, but it wasn't easy. And it was REALLY hard to hire a babysitter to watch the kid so I could work in another room. <br /><br />I still don't have a feeling of legitimacy for my fiction. I've decided that my writing is a really complex and time consuming hobby. One that I'm obsessive about. That's about the extent of my ability to grant myself legitimacy. Renahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02767762370997304308noreply@blogger.com