Ack! Where's the time in December?

We headed out to cut a Christmas tree in the National Forest Saturday morning--one of the last days when the site was open. Our car died halfway there, just as the snow that had been threatening all morning decided to come down in earnest. Did you know it's difficult to get a tow truck when the roads are snowy? The Christmas-tree adventure turned into a full-day adventure sans tree. We sat in the car for hours; but luckily, in my family, there are always a few books in tow, so we read aloud for most of that time: The War of the Roses, by Astrid Lindgren of Pippi Longstocking fame. It's a fun read, and a good distraction if you're ever caught in a snowstorm.

December is such a crazy month. How do writers write, with decorating to do, presents to buy, snow to shovel (it's still coming down here in Colorado,) and countless holiday programs and parties to attend.

In my house, the writing projects are starting to stack up. It's time for me to resubmit The Last Violin, I have a half dozen nf articles I'd like to write, and there's always contract writing waiting in the wings.

I've spent most of my free moments polishing my nonfiction picture book. That's going very well. It turns out that the contract writing I've been doing has been a perfect warmup for my current phase in the nf book project. In medical writing, I need to document every little fact; as I prepare this final version of the nf book project, I need to footnote every quote and statement. It's like a treasure hunt through my research. Ideally, I would have noted all these things as I went along--but this is a first try at something as complicated as a nf book.

My time in December feels as if it is in short supply, but I keep reminding myself that I'm choosing where to spend the hours. Right now, it's more important to spend extra hours with my family and preparing for holiday celebrations; some of those hours, I'll save to write. But if the blog posts are farther between, you'll know why!

Cheryl