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- Blog Posts (30)
- Contact (1)
- How To book reviews about writing (3)
- Links (1)
- Reviews & Interviews (1)
- Writing Advice (18)
- 24. January 2012: Self-Publishing Picture Books?
- 6. January 2012: CICADA is publishing my short story!
- 10. December 2011: I’m Not Proud: All the Wrong Ways to Deal with an Agent
- 27. November 2011: Why I Struggle While Reading Self-Published Work
- 7. November 2011: Hiatus on my Education
- 26. October 2011: Should You Pay to Have Your Work Critiqued?
- 17. October 2011: The New Face of Publishing?
- 4. October 2011: Revision 411
- 9. September 2011: Sentimental Writing
- 1. September 2011: Getting my Masters Degree Part 1
Hiatus on my Education
It’s true. I am taking a leave of absence from the Creative Writing Masters Program. Why? Because I can’t do it all. There. I said it. I think sometimes we writers ask too much of ourselves. We want to succeed in our careers, improve in our craft all the while eating right, getting regular exercise, working our jobs, taking care of our kids, doing many errands and keeping our houses free from bugs and vermin (in other words, cleaning semi-regularly). But something has got to give. I know writers whose houses are filthy. I know writers whose children are in other people’s care. A lot. I know writers who are in desperate need of a health makeover. But they are writing. I’m not here to judge, I’m just here to explain…we can’t have it all. So I am putting my education on hold without guilt. Maybe a bit of disappointment, I am loving the class I’m taking. But after this semester I will have to wait until the littlest attends Kindergarten. Perhaps you’ve made sacrifices, too? It’s all right. Even putting your writing on hold is all right if that’s what you need to to do to get yourself together. It’s hard to be creative when you feel held down by a twenty-foot pile of rocks. Give yourself permission to give yourself room. In two years, I will return to college. What are your goals?
27. December 2011 at 18:16
You show uncommon wisdom. A person simply can’t do it all and screwed up priorities hurt everyone, not just the marathon type A person. You WILL get that MFA, even if it takes years. But those years will be rich because you smelled the roses, drank deeply of life’s elixer and loved your family… and had time to join your fellow writers on Tuesday evenings!
30. December 2011 at 16:01
Nicely put, Sue. It’s true that for me family comes before all us, and the Tuesday group a close second, ha ha. I need to understand my limitations and accept them. I’m no superwoman…and the term itself makes me grit my teeth.