Wow, I have been off the blogging grid for quite some time. It’s been several months since I have written a blog post, consistently posted on social media, or wrote a newsletter. I feel as though I have fallen off the face of the planet.
Life in my house has been a whirlwind since May. The school year came to an end, and summer began, our vacation was cut short by the sudden loss of a family member, and sprinkled in were college visits for my son who will be a High School senior this year. Some days my head felt like it might explode. My emotions were up and down like a rollercoaster. Add to that the now exhausting early mornings of the kids’ football, field hockey, and golf summer conditioning practices my husband and I have been tag teaming.
Whatever happened to the lazy, sleep in late days of summer?
But that’s life for all of us. Sometimes it’s a struggle to fit in everything we want to do in a day. Like, for me, writing. But my problem isn’t finding the time to write; it’s finding the focus I seem to have lost. Despite my full days, I have managed to continue writing. In fact, I’ve written a lot, but I’ve been so distracted, that my ideas have somehow been sucked into the disarray of my head. I’ve started dozens of stories, threw a few false starts away, kept a few, and wrote some more. I’ve started, stopped, jumped back and forth between stories, (and genres), and never managed to finish anything.
I have book plots scribbled on scraps of paper scattered across the end of my kitchen table where I sit, and more random thoughts collected on my computer. My creativity is not lacking, but my follow through is atrocious. I can’t seem to focus. I want to finish something, but it feels impossible to get it done.
It’s like chasing butterflies.
I sat down one morning with my cup of coffee and wondered what was keeping me from reaching ‘The End.’ If I completed all of the ideas I’ve started since April, I’d have a dozen books or more. Somewhere though, in the chaos of being Mom, wife, and housekeeper, I lost my “why.” I’ve forgotten why I’m writing, why I started, and where I want to go.
We all need a direction and focus for our pursuits and passions.
I admit that I am an avid fan of the Hallmark Movies and Mystery channel. I love all their sappy romances and mystery series. My goal has always been to write a love story or cozy mystery novel that would make it onto Hallmark’s big screen. As if divine intervention read my mind, I recently came across a link on Facebook that Hallmark is looking for book submissions. Just the inspiration I need! It’s the focus that will hopefully get me back on my path to finishing all those started ideas, and maybe submit them for consideration. The thought is motivating!
It’s time to stop chasing butterflies. I am going to buckle down and push through until I can type…
The End!
I’ll let you know how it turns out.