Balance

Sometimes I wonder if other writer's struggle to juggle everything in their lives like I do. I'm sure they do. I've seen blog posts and tweets to suggest others face the same dilemmas, but somehow, I still feel as though I am the only one facing these problems and this unbalance...and I guess that is true. Thankfully, there is only one of me (at least in my realm of consciousness).

I am the only one who faces my challenges...

So is that reassuring? I know I've heard that saying...something along the lines of I am the only one who can face the things in my life...does that make me feel better? Does that make trying to find balance any more manageable?

On some days, I think I would say yes.

Today is not one of those days.

Today is one of those days where I believe I need at least 15 extra hours in a day to accomplish a portion of what I want to finish.

So the question remains. How, or maybe I should be asking where, can I find balance? How can I juggle being a wife, mother, friend, house keeper, pet owner, employee, relative, gardener, confidant AND a writer all at the same time without worrying that something on the list will fall through the cracks?

No wonder my muse has been noticeably absent recently. In an attempt to not break the scales and keep everything in balance, I have allowed other things to fall away...but I miss them.

I want to write. I want to edit. I want to query (believe it or not), but I don't want to do these things at the expense of everything else.

I guess the only thing I can do is work on my balance. I guess it's time to get back on the tight rope and hope my feet don't fall out from under me.

Critique Partners

I think writing is the only profession that insists on a hermitage solitude and simultaneous human interaction.

Yup - we are a conundrum. We are alphas - traveling through the muses as we see fit, daring anyone to make us stop writing...or change direction.

BUT

and here's the kicker - we can't do it alone.

Every book...okay almost every book because I'll be honest I haven't looked at every book - but they all have acknowledgements. They all have people who they feel compelled to thank along the road to publication - those people who push and prod, poke and tweak. Those people who help them make words shine and bring an idea to an entirely new level from where it had originally started.

I thought I could do it alone - I didn't know any better.

I do now.

And here's what happens when a critique partner becomes more than just some random person you met through a twitter friend.

You realize where your story can go because someone else can see the light.
You realize how much more you have to do because someone else has seen better in you.
You realize why you want to fix it because someone else believes in you.

You realize you aren't alone.

A good critique partner will give you the truth no matter how painful it may be. They will become more than just a name or a red pen. They will be the kick in the ass you need when you can't find the drive to push through the rainy day. They will be the shoulder either literal or proverbial to lean on when you feel weak. They will be your biggest supporter and most avid ally.

I needed to crawl out of my hermit cave and realize that I couldn't do this alone. I needed feedback (and not just from family...because we all know they can't be trusted fully). I needed motivation. I needed someone to help me see the bad as well as the good.

So I move on, but I do so knowing that I have people I can turn to when things don't quite click, and the cyclical world of writing begins again.