Welcome to another day of insecurity. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this time of sharing encouragement and advice.
For those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis, you have heard this before. I've really enjoyed my foray into doing more with my blog over the past twelve months but it does cut into my writing time.
The dilema then is where to spend my limited hours. I want to work on my WIP but I also like to keep up with my blogging buddies. I feel guilty for neglecting either one. I know this problem is common to many writers, not just me. The secret is to find a balance. But even when I divide my time between the two, I feel guilt for not doing more for both.
There is no answer, but there is comfort in knowing this problem is shared by all who have to promote, network and grow their online presence all while working on their latest writing projects. A shared pain is better than a lonely pain.
I won't even go to that spot of feeling guilt because you neglect other things in your life to work on your writing or blogging. Please share your guilt issues and we'll all feel a little better for being one of many and not the lone sufferer.
25 comments:
It's a huge problem trying to do everything and write more (I'm blogging about the same thing!) I wish publishers would take on more. After all, it would benefit them because we'd be sending them our next book in record time!
I think I should cut back on my housekeeping and gardening, but I can't write if everything else is a mess... Oh hmm. :-(
I have the same problem. When I return to the blogosphere, I'll posting only twice a month on each blog I have-two of them.
I've worn myself thin with all the family issues as of late.
It's tough and it's work. I just try to compartmentalize. There's a man who follows my blog who works full time as a college professor, grades papers/tests, writes, takes his wife for chemo treatments, and continues to blog regularly and visit all his followers about twice a week. Since he's a professor and writes fantasy/scifi, I don't think I have much to offer him but because I interviewed him once he's "giving back" to me. Every time I see his comment, I feel honored and encouraged. He's my inspiration to keep on keeping on.
I hesitate to comment because I don't share in this problem. To me, there is no reason to feel guilt from not getting to blog, or anything else for that matter.
We do what we can within our day and that's that. If we're lucky, we get an new start, the next day.
Cheers and boogie boogie.
Yes, I feel this too. I try to post and visit but then I find that the dishes pile up, the house is a mess and I am ignoring all the other people in my life. I'm still working to find a good balance
I have the same guilt. I love to keep up with other authors' blogs but my time online's really limited these days, so writing comes first, especially on weekends. Balance is tricky!
Perfect timing. My little alarm just went off telling me to stop visiting blogs and get back to writing. But I have 19 more blogs in my follow list to read and comment on. So I'll write for two hours and then come back. It's a juggling act, isn't it?
when you get older, you are not as guilty--at least about this kinda stuff--don't worry about it--it will all work out :)
Ugh. There's just an endless loop of guilt, isn't there? I have a hard time balancing it all, too.
I hear you. I get really stressed about falling behind, particularly when I'm not about to get around to visit blogs as much as I'd like.Sigh!
working through guilt issues now. tired of living with them. i'll be a happier person.
I always feel guilty at how much time I spend blogging and facebooking and twittering when I have a book to get out into the world. There's a fine line on which to be balanced and I keep falling off.
I think the best support is knowing we all agree (at least I think we all agree) the WIP comes first.
My biggest guilt is if I stop hitting the blogosphere for a few days and see a massive backlog of posts that I know I'll never catch up with, so I end up clicking the 'mark all as read' button and starting afresh. It means I can stay up to date, but I feel guilty at missing out on so many good posts.
I feel really guilty I can't beat Diablo a fourth time right now. Oh wait...
Since I'm trying to blog and write at the same time, I know it's difficult.
I don't think I'll ever get the right balance on this one. I turn away from Google Reader for a moment and there are 5 more posts, each and every time! Then I look around at my MS and it's whimpering pathetically due to lack of attention.
Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite of Cathy fame writes:Food, love, career, and mothers, the four major guilt groups. It is the our rite of passage to feel the pain of guilt, like childbirth, endure it and move on. Or you can ignore the laundry, as I do, and blog more ;p
Quitting my job could help, but then I couldn't blog while living under a bridge ;)
blogging is a nice break from writing, giving/receiving encouragement, feedback & inspiration! i need my daily blogging routine!
Guilty of not working on my current book at a faster pace. I'm still lobbying for a 40 hour day.
Same here. Writing, catching up on blogs . . . they're both important.
I've only been blogging for a few months and I just didn't know how everyone else did it because I feel constantly behind. It's encouraging to see it's not just me. Thanks for visiting my blog. :)
I don't want to let go of anything so the best thing would be to ditch the guilt. Now, I just have to figure that one out.
It's always comforting to know I'm not alone. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! :)
I had to take guilt and throw it out the window. It would paralyze me into not being able to do anything, or trying to do it all half-way.
I think time management can be handled by a solid schedule that is flexible enough for the unexpected, and firm enough to say no to the frivolous extras. Sounds ideal, but mine isn't perfected yet. I'm still working on it. :-)
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