Erotica By Helen E. H. Madden

It’s not easy being a writer and a stay-at-home mom, especially if you're working in the field of erotica. Here are four strategies I use to get the work done.

First, work when the kids are asleep. It helps if they take a good nap. My youngest child naps every morning and afternoon for two hours at a time. That won't last forever, but for right now, it allows me to work four hours a day. And even when she drops her morning nap, her afternoon nap should end up being longer. And if that’s still not enough time, you can get up to work before the kids get up and go to bed a little bit later than they do. I don't always recommend staying up late though. I like to get to bed right after the kids to make sure I can ask to get up early in the morning. I know from experience I'm better off getting up early in the morning to do some work than I am if I stay up late. If I get up early, I wake up fresh and I know my day gets off to a good start. If I stay up late, I know I’ll pay for it by being wiped out the next day.

Second, be flexible. What I mean is, make it as easy for yourself to write. In my case that means having a laptop to bring downstairs to the dining room where the kids are playing, and having a digital voice recorder that I can talk into while doing chores or pushing the stroller through the neighborhood. You can’t do your particularly juicy sex scenes on a voice recorder when the kids awake and running around, but you can do other things like flesh out story ideas, come up with character names, outline your plot, etc. As an alternative, you can also walk around with a notebook and jot down notes when you get the chance, although this is hard to do when you got a baby in one arm and the notebook in the other because then you have to hold pen in your mouth to write.

Third, get out of the house. Sometimes, it really pays to work outside the home. If you can, get your spouse to take care of the kids while you steal off to the library with your laptop or notebook. Libraries are the perfect place to write. You’ve got everything you need there - dictionary, thesaurus, outlet, a chair and a desk. Bookstores are good too, but you don’t spend nearly as much money on lattes at a library.

Fourth, when you’re working, just work. Don't answer the phone or handle e-mail or have folks come visit. I’ve explained to all my friends and family that I love them, but I’m only going to answer the phone at certain times of the day, and definitely not when I’m writing. You would be amazed at how much of your time gets eaten out by talking to someone on the phone. Other things you shouldn't do why you're supposed reworking - browse the newspaper, fix yourself a snack or read e-mail. When you set aside time for writing, you have to make sure it's just for writing. It's okay to be doing other things as you walk around the house with your digital voice recorder or your notebook, but when you sit down at that keyboard there better be only one thing on your mind - getting your story into your computer. Don't get sidetracked by any of these other things, and definitely don't play solitaire for hours on end it doesn't help with writer's block. Trust me I've tried.

Labels: Write-At-Home Mom, Writing tips

Thursday, April 26, 2007

How To Write With Children At Home