At the end of December, when my baby was just three months and I was still spending more of the night awake than asleep, I made a list of three personal and professional things that I wanted to accomplish this year. One of them, as I mentioned in a recent post, was to develop a writing practice.
Back then, my goal was modest: any writing would do.
I wanted to put together a blog post about the baby’s arrival, I wanted to record every single thing about the baby, I wanted to (hand)write in my messy thought dump journal, to resume a handwritten letter correspondence with a close friend, to reflect upon my shifting identity and the rollercoaster of emotions I was experiencing day in day out, to send thank you cards for baby gifts, Christmas cards and New Year greetings. But I would have be glad to manage anything at all.
So I thought it would be interesting for myself if I wrote a quick update each month on how things are going. Tips and tricks appreciated from any other (working or home-based) mamas out there!
✍️ Actual Writing
As things stand now, I am managing to get a few things down on paper most days. I am using the new JetPack app to try work on blog posts when nap-trapped, trying to finish them up and do an aesthetic edit on my computer before publishing, as there are a few things the app can’t handle. And I am trying hard to keep momentum going with an exciting writing project that is bigger than anything else I’ve done before. For this I’m using OneNote to keep track of all my thoughts and research, I’ve had the program on my computer for ages but recently started using the app on my phone as well – it’s so much easier to use the phone when unexpected windows of time open up, or to make a few quick notes after reading something interesting. I’m very much still in a planning and research phase with this project, so a current struggle is how to do this in a way that fits with my current day to day. I find with planning that I really want visual space (two screens preferably, or at least a laptop size screen) to open multiple windows as I try to make connections and map things out. Still trying to find workarounds, maybe I’ll have an update on this next month.
📚 Reading
Reading and writing go in hand, of course. Sometimes directly so – I’m doing a lot of reading around the subject of my writing project so that I have sense of the lay of the land. But also just for inspiration. I use Twitter (link to my profile) to follow writers and publishers whose work I like, and a lot of what I read online comes from these sources. I still find it a great way to discover new (to me) writing.
Otherwise, given that holding a book and doing anything at all with a constantly wriggling and kicking baby is near impossible, my e-reader (allowing single-handed reading), and Auckland Libraries’ e-catalog, enables 100% of my reading. I’ve sung the praises of this before, and I still can’t believe how amazing this resource is. I’ve read 82 books since O was born (- mainly while awake nursing overnight). A few I enjoyed in March: Ongoingness by Sarah Manguso, The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.
✨ What’s On The Horizon?
I recently learnt about An Artist Residency in Motherhood (- follow the link to find out more). I think this would be a wonderful thing to do at some point, especially with my writing project. No plans just yet, but definitely something I’ll be keeping in mind for the future.
For Aucklanders, the Auckland Writers Festival is upcoming and looks like it has some really exciting events. I’ll be overseas for the duration, but would otherwise definitely have planned to go.
Tips and tricks appreciated from any other (working or home-based) mamas out there who are also trying to write!
Zx
Mad to Live 