Nothing Comes Easy

What do you find is the hardest part of writing?

• Ideas?  There are times when I think I'll never have another idea for a story.  So far, that hasn't happened.  Will it?  Maybe.  But ideas for most writers are plentiful.
• Characters?  Those are the fuel that power the story.  With ideas come characters.  With characters come ideas.  Those are the easy parts of writing for me. 
• Setting?  Most of us have our favorites.  Our hearts seem to find them.
• Plotting?  I've sometimes thought I will never have a plot for the idea of a story.  And then something magically happens.  The ideas, characters, setting, all come together to tell me where the story should go, what it's about, what will happen to those characters--if they haven't already told me.  Sometimes it takes longer than I'd like, but if I start struggling, I rely on writing friends for brainstorming and we put it all together.
• Writing?  The actual putting words on paper?  Unlike Pat and Joan, the actual writing is what I enjoy most.  It may not always be right.  It may take making changes, but as long as I have an idea of where I'm going, where the characters are taking me, what the setting is and the direction of the plot/story, I can write and write...sometimes to the point of writing too much.

So where's the hard part for me?  Finding the time.

I don't have an outside job that keeps me from home.  In the past, that's been true, and I quickly learned that if an idea or a piece of dialogue popped into my head, I needed to write it down.  It might not be perfect, but it's a start.  The fact is, writing while working outside the home was often easier than working from home has become.

That sounds silly, doesn't it?

You see, I have a family.  All of us do, whether it's children, grandchildren, parents, husbands, or siblings...or all of those.  They demand--and deserve--a part of our time.  Sometimes they take priority, and writing is put aside.  But there are times when I have to say no, I'm working, when I'd rather do something else. Nothing comes easy, does it?  Especially the things that reward us the most.  That includes family.

But even though I've figured out that even short blocks of time can be productive, it isn't as smooth as it could be.  My family knows that I "work" during the day and often into the night, and they respect that.  But there's still a shortage of time, especially quiet time, with no interruptions.  And sleep.  There's never enough time for that.  In my shortest bios, the words, "sleep is highly underrated" are the truth.

Would I give it up because it's sometimes difficult to juggle a life that includes constant interruptions, too many things on my to do list, a shortage of time, and days when it's hard to keep from falling asleep?  No.  Never.  And whether anyone reads what I write or not, I'll still keep writing.

No matter what we do, no matter how hard something about it might be, we keep doing it because without it there'd be a void.  We're no different than the crafters, the soap opera addicts, the sports junkies, the volunteers or anyone else who has a passion, and that includes family.  It may not always be easy, but we don't give up.  The harder something is, the more joy we have from the accomplishment of it.  After all, if everything was easy, where would be the joy in getting through it and finishing?

Give me more time, and I'll fill it to overflowing.  It's the nature of the Time Beast that lives inside me.  There's no use fighting it.  Somehow I manage to muddle through and find The End.