Thursday, November 6, 2008

The wake up call

You know your style is seriously cramped when you can't even pull a proper all-nighter.

That might not make sense to those who don't write for a living, but there comes a time in every writer's life that looming deadlines and too many responsibilities result in an old-fashioned, red-eyed, going to bed when the rest of the world wakes up kind of writing marathon.

And for me, well, let's just say that procrastination is my middle name and I can't seem to get jack done without a deadline actually kicking me in the ass.

Before I had Buttercup? No problem. I did this often when I brought work home with me, writing an article from fresh notes taken at the city council meeting I had just covered.

Now? I'm lucky if I can write past 1 a.m. thanks to my lil' sweetie's internal alarm clock. No matter what time this girl goes to bed, she wakes by 2 a.m. to finish the night off cuddled in my arms.

Sure, it is a fantastic way to end my evening. No complaints there. But it does strike me as funny how this nightly phenomenon finally hit home with the "Hey-you don't call the shots anymore" message that should have been clear months and months ago.

I'd write more, but it is 1:41 a.m. and I have 10 minutes to brush my teeth, wash my face, and get my jammies on before my boss yells at me for trying to sneak in some overtime again.

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3 comments:

Nicole Feliciano said...

I'm with you. A late-night is now midnight for me and I'm wrecked the next day. But as a writing momma it is the only way to meet deadlines.

I write for Babble.com, Mom central and a doggie blog. And my own site. I've got a bunch of contests to share if you've got a minute to stop by my blog.

One for a $50 Paper Shouts certificate (perfect for the holidays)
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2008/11/paper-shouts-holiday-card-contest.html

One for an awesome art backpack from Little Jet Set:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2008/11/contest-easy-holiday-travel-with-kids.html

Have a great weekend!

Pauline said...

OMG! Want to network? I will try to hook you up with new clients if you can help me. I'd LOVE to write for babble and cannot believe i didn't make the connection. How cool is that?

Nancy Tarr said...

All nighters are in your future, you just have to nap when the little one naps. I used to (and still do stay up quite late) and just push myself to that 3 hour nap that I know (or used to know...now that they don't nap anymore) is coming....go all-nighters!!