writing can’t be your full-time job when you have a full-time job

In my last post, I set a deadline of February 28 by which I was to complete my second round of edits. I then proceeded to contract both norovirus and the flu within the span of a month.

But let’s be honest: if I hadn’t called in sick, I probably would’ve drummed up some other excuse anyway. Life is full. Writing is fulfilling, but life is full already.

This seemingly never-ending quest toward publication has been quite an adventure. I’ve been writing novels for twenty years now – more than half of my life! Which means I’ve got one first draft to show for every two years I’ve been writing. Maybe I haven’t been published yet, but that’s something, right?

There have been a few bumps and potholes on this crazy road. I’ve made a couple wrong turns along the way. But eventually this windy, unpaved, uphill path will lead me to a published novel. Maybe even a career as a writer. Someday.

Which brings me to my next point: It turns out when you have a full-time job, writing can’t be your full-time job. I’m balancing a delicate mix of career, familial, and social obligations, and even with all that, I’m pretty diligent about writing and editing. So all these deadlines I keep setting for myself have turned the enjoyable act of writing into the burden of a second full-time career. And worse, I’ve turned it into the sort of career where I’m setting deadlines for meeting my deadlines.

So, the February 28 deadline isn’t going to happen. But the editing is. I’m just not getting sick pay for it.