Friday, January 7, 2011

Parent Writers – Working at home with kids

Guilt, I haz it. When I learned of the thousands of handwritten pages by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Marquette University collection, I had to remind myself he lived in a different time altogether where he could sit down for hours without distraction and create a whole alternate universe. I have trouble writing a thousand words a day set in real times! Tolkien had four children he loved dearly, but we all know he didn’t do the day-to-day jobs of cooking and washing clothes for them.

 I constantly struggle with setting aside time to write, and I’m terrible at multitasking. In fact, walking and talking sometimes fit my definition of multitasking. Usually, I either get up very early in the morning or work late in the night when everyone else is asleep in the house, because I just can’t write with too much commotion around me. So I made this little short video to look at the lighter side of juggling two very different occupations. How do you all do it? ~ Dee Garretson 


14 comments:

  1. Dee- HILARIOUS! I saw this video yesterday and made my husband watch it. He didn't laugh quite as much as I did, but I think it's essential viewing for any family members of a writer :) Thanks so much for making this!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is too funny!I totally know the feeling! LOVE THIS!!!

    Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's hilarious. I just picked up my 10 yo old from school in the same sweatpants and t-shirt that I slept in last night. I told her that I wrote all day and she said "is that why you're not wearing normal clothes?"

    Excuse me while I go jump out a window.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christina! I work from home and I've done that soooo many times! I was forced to get ready today because I had to run errands at lunch! Here's to clean clothes (and hair)!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Haha. That rings true, but my daughter didn't find it very funny;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOL! I love that! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, all!. Kelly, I don't think kids can see themselves in it. My own think it's very funny, but just chalk it up to my weird imagination. And Christina, so funny! I have to admit I'm guilty of that too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Too funny! 'we have a room called the kitchen!'

    ReplyDelete
  9. Every writing mom-at-home needs to see this! So funny yet so true :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. So funny!! Thanks for the laugh, Dee :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh my goodness that is funny and I agree with everything you said.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for adding to the mayhem!