This is the continuation of an interview with writer, Pat Hauldren. Please read Part One of this article before continuing here.
AuthorMike-What is your writing routine, if you have one? Do you write on a regular basis or just when inspiration inspires you?
Pat Hauldren-I write as much as possible whenever possible. For instance, today, I just dropped off a friend after picking her up at the airport and now I'm in a Barnes and Noble bookstore writing, until time for my Tai Chi class. I keep notebooks everywhere (and extra glasses, hubby had a hard time understanding why I needed to buy so many pairs of prescription glasses. I just went prescription this year, and unfortunately, they cost more than the dime store pairs.) And take my laptop with me almost everywhere. I'm hoping for a net book for my birthday :).
My routine is usually I'm up by 10am or a little later. I turn on the computer to boot up then pad into the kitchen in my sweats and house shoes and make my coffee. (I only drink Senseo coffee or Douwe Egberts, ever. Got hooked on it in The Netherlands.) I grandbaby sit my 4 yr old granddaughter during the week. I've just taught her how to make my coffee, which saves me some time. She also makes me toast on the days I'm really thick-headed from writing all night, but it's not toast that just anyone could eat. Only someone who loves a 4 yr old's version of toast.
Then, I sit down to check email and open up my browser to the Examiner writing page and start writing articles for the day. It might be something that I'd been meaning to write, or something that just came up from reading email (like a local book signing or hockey event).
Then, it's time to feed the grandchild. After hotdogs and iced tea or Spaghetti-Os and grape Kool-Aid, she watches TV while I write some more and if I'm lucky, she naps, giving me the much-needed quiet time to work on first draft material. Otherwise, I edit. I do editing for a local micro-publisher, Cyberwizard Productions, and I'm working on several books for her, and I freelance edit and have several customers there.
Then, the 4 yr old wakes up and it's time to snack. I usually shut down my computer then and start thawing dinner and watch some TV or read. Two more grandkids show up after school, the 12 and 13 yr old, and then after they leave and hubby is home, hubby and I might watch a little TV, then I prop up in bed with the laptop and if there's nothing pressing to write or edit, I work on my novels till I fall asleep, or when I'm lazy, I read.
AM-What has been the hardest thing for you to write?
PH-The hardest thing for me to write is something that's not mine. Articles for other people's sites are a pain. I've stopped doing that sort of writing because I don't enjoy it and it takes time and energy away from my own writing.
The second hardest thing is to put writing first. I'm lucky, hubby understands and the rest of my family just deals with it. LOL. But my kids are grown, so in that respect I'm in a better "writing headspace" than some. And my house is a mess. I could clean everyday, but then I'd be writing less. I have a lot of people around, kids and grandkids and four-legged friends, so I have to schedule one day a week to clean, no more, no less. (And when I'm rich, I'll get a maid. :)
The third hardest thing is to watch my writer friends have to deal with their friends and family who don't understand creative personality types.
One note of advice to writers--most already know this if they've been writing a while, but it's one of the most difficult things for writers, though I'm extremely lucky in that my husband not only supports my writing (he'd be out on his duff if he didn't!) but he also helps write for my Examiner column, advising significant others and loved ones of writers how to cope. Kind of a "Writers' Friends Anonymous" column--prepare your friends and family. When you're ready to "come out", explain it to them, be loving but firm, and then, take a big breath, because for most, this is the most difficult part of being a creative person.
Writers must be selfish.
Some spouses, for instance, never give ample time for the writer to write. Thinking is writing, too. Just because we are daydreaming doesn't mean we aren't writing. My daughter used to think that because I was at the computer, typing away, that I was playing or chatting because that's all she uses the computer for. She'd constantly ask me to babysit. Well, sometimes I do have to. There are obligations beyond writing, but very, very few. The writer must make those choices and make the family aware of them and though it can be a rocky road, stick to them.
A friend of mine, writing her 3rd book but yet to be published, is still dealing with her husband on time management. He insists she spend more time with him and less writing. He never understands that the creative process is not always a nine to five formatted job. Much of it is, but not always. He says something like (paraphrasing), "When you make money, then you can devote more time to it". That's like saying, "after you're published, you can write." What he's really saying is that he wants more time with her. He doesn't want her or his life to change. She can do whatever she likes, as long as it doesn't affect him.
Do we ask doctors to train and intern AFTER they have a thriving practice?
Another writer friend can only attend the once-a-month workshop when nothing else is happening at home (i.e., when his wife lets him).
One writer left her husband and family for a year to write her book because they would not let her alone long enough to get good, quality writing time. Her house was in shambles when she returned, but she had a book written.
One writer friend of mine got a divorce because of his commitment to writing. His wife couldn't understand why he couldn't work a regular job to make more money so she didn't have to work to support him. He's still writing and publishing, and now that he's over the heartbreak, a lot happier (though I'm not promoting divorce, mind you. :)
Being a writer is a commitment that could get you committed. But let's hope not.
Be sure to read Part Three of this interview. And don't forget to visit Pat's Website!
For more articles on writing, visit my Examiner Page. For more about my books, lectures, classes and more, visit AuthorMike.com And don't forget to add me to your favorite networking sites, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, for instant updates.
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