When I talk to other writers they often ask how I manage to get everything done. I find this funny because I’m not the most prolific of writers (I write about 3 books a year), but I do have a small handful of part-time jobs and three kids. My short answer is I write everywhere I possibly can.
The slightly longer answer is that I’ve trained myself to write when I have a block of free time. Kids are in a sport? Practice is awesome for writing. Over the years, my kids have been in Tae Kwon Do, football, cheerleading, dance, swimming, wrestling, and track. Many, many hours are spent shuttling kids. But once they’re at their destination, I don’t stay. I go off to write. I don’t stay at practice because I might be distracted by watching my awesome kids or, more likely, be brought into conversation by other parents. I’ve written at least part of every book—okay who am I kidding?—most of every book at a McDonald’s. I buy a dollar drink and pull out my laptop.
I spent years writing only in this manner. And early on, I didn’t have a laptop. I wrote in a notebook and then typed everything into my computer after the kids went to bed. After I got my first contract, which meant I had deadlines, I figured I should have a dedicated space for writing. I took over the desk in the spare room. I added the bulletin board I use for my collages while writing. This would be my WRITING SPACE.
The thing is having an official space didn’t change how or when I write. It’s not perfect. When my mother-in-law comes to visit, I lose my office. I go back to writing at the dining room table or on the living room couch. And I still sit at McDonalds to write at least a few times a week during my kids’ practice. Part of it is training and part of it is comfort. I know that I won’t be thinking about a load of laundry that I could put in quickly or the dishes that need to be washed. At McDonalds, no one needs anything from me.
I guess I never understood people’s fascination with where a writer writes. Do they think there’s some magic to it? There’s not. Even my dedicated writer space is used for other things. I use that space to plan lessons when I’m teaching. At any given point, my desk is cluttered with a number of jobs. And the writing still happens.
Bottom line, if writing is important, and you have a story to tell, you figure out how to make it happen.
His New Jam
Sydney Peters can’t wait to finally drop the cymbals in marching band and devote time to her true love: drums. With the semester coming to a close, she’s blocking out the cacophony during practice, especially sax serenades from Hunter Reed. But when Hunter offers her a paid gig as a drummer in his band, Sydney quickly changes her tune. The two favor different styles, but they make beautiful music together…in more ways than one.
Hunter is fascinated by Sydney’s distant allure. He might be a ladies’ man on campus, but the sarcastic cymbalist is impervious to his advances. When Hunter sees how passionate Sydney is behind the drums, he orchestrates a plan to find out if she kisses like she plays. What he doesn’t anticipate, however, is falling so hard. But will the repercussions of his past crash down on his chance at something real?
Available at:
Nook – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-new-jam-shannyn-schroeder/1121380907?ean=9781616509569
iBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/his-new-jam/id979050022?mt=11
Kobo – https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/his-new-jam
About Shannyn:
Shannyn Schroeder is the author of the O’Leary series, contemporary romances centered around a large Irish-American family in Chicago and the Hot & Nerdy series about 3 nerdy friends finding love. When she’s not wrangling her three kids or writing, she watches a ton of TV and loves to bake cookies.
Author contact:
Web site — http://www.shannynschroeder.com
Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6575201.Shannyn_Schroeder
Twitter — https://twitter.com/SSchroeder_
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/shannyn.schroeder
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