Slowly But Surely

It may be painstakingly slow, but I am making progress on my latest project.

Every day for about five days in a row, I've sat down at my computer to proofread and re-write what I've typed up so far or write at least one new page before getting distracted by my husband or son or going to sleep for the night.

In "On Writing," Stephen King talks about having a room of your own to write in with a door that you can close to shut out what's going on in your house. Of course, he's a man whose only job is to write. And, let's face it, he's a man. That means that during the era when he had young children at home, he was not likely the one getting them milk, wiping their nose, getting them to the potty on time and generally keeping them entertained while cooking dinner at the same time.

Granted, when King wrote his first few books, he was a full-time teacher. So, like me, he worked all day. But, assuming his wife was the one taking care of his son's and daughter's needs most of the time, he probably had fewer distractions than I do at night. If he did help out with the kids more than I suspect and still managed to be as prolific I writer as he was, my hat's off to him.

In all fairness, I do have an understanding and supportive husband who probably does more than his fair share with our son so that I can write at night, but I still give in to mommy guilt and stop writing mid-sentence from time to time to get my son's milk or snack or find the flashlight that he's lost, yet again.

That's why I feel like I've gotten a lot accomplished if I get through 10 pages when I'm proofreading or produce a few new pages when I'm actually writing. As the characters sing on one of my son's favorite TV shows, "Yo Gabba Gabba," my project will get done in "baby steps, baby steps, little tiny baby steps."