{"id":1787,"date":"2018-12-28T17:45:06","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T17:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/?p=1787"},"modified":"2018-12-28T17:45:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T17:45:46","slug":"on-to-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/?p=1787","title":{"rendered":"Bring on 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This past year I wrote 59 blog posts, wrote and submitted three novel-length manuscripts, and two short stories. I also renovated a house and did eighty percent of the work myself. I have young children, a partner, and older parents with health issues that often require me to make an eight-hour drive to be there to help with their needs. <\/strong><\/span>
\nPeople ask me all the time if I sleep. The short answer is no, not much, but then I never have slept much more than six hours a night at any point in my life. <\/strong><\/span>
\nI also don’t watch television, or movies very much. I also left my part-time job this year as healthcare worker after 31 years, and that affords me more time to write. I am also extremely fortunate to enjoy excellent health. <\/strong><\/span>
\nWhy tell all of you this? Because I’ve read the most incredibly stupid advice to writers about all the things you must do if you want to “be serious” about your career. <\/strong><\/span>
\nThe types of articles and posts that contain this type of advice assume that what works\/worked for them will work for everyone. This is not true. I’m going to say it louder for folks in the back THIS IS NOT TRUE! <\/strong><\/span>
\nEvery writer is unique, what works for me, will most likely not work for you. I have wicked ADHD, which is why I don’t sleep and am driven to keep doing something, to move, to think, to create when most neurotypical folks are resting or sleeping. <\/strong><\/span>
\nI also tend to hyperfocus which means I can write in the middle of a busy street, or my living room surrounded by my family with all kinds of chaos going on. It doesn’t mean that I’m more serious than the next person it only means I have found a way to work that works for me. <\/strong><\/span>
\nAnd this is my advice for folks for 2019, find a way that works for you. Go ahead and read the books, try different methods, explore your options, and in the end trust yourself. You do you. My second bit of advice, please for all that’s good in the world and your sanity, don’t compare your output to anyone else. <\/strong><\/span>
\nThe same folks who want to tell you that you must write every day like to say “we all have the same 24 hours a day.” <\/strong><\/span>
\nI want to point out that is not true. My 24 hours do not look like your 24 hours. We each have unique responsibilities and time constraints, physical and mental abilities, that make our 24 hours what they are, and yes we can control some of what our 24 hours look like, but work and family obligations are often beyond our control, as a mom of twins, trust me, even with the best-laid plans, two kids with fevers wreck your day, and may wreck your week! <\/strong><\/span>
\nMy wish for everyone out there is to have a happy, sane and healthy New Year, filled with joy and that you accomplish your goals your way.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Brenda Murphy writes short fiction and novels. She loves tattoos and sideshows and yes, those are her monkeys. \u00a0When she is not loitering at her local tea shop and writing, she wrangles two kids, one dog, and an unrepentant parrot. \u00a0She\u00a0reviews books,\u00a0blogs about life as a writer with ADHD and\u00a0publishes\u00a0photographs on her\u00a0blog\u00a0<\/a>Writing While Distracted.\u00a0<\/a>You can find her\u00a0on Facebook by clicking\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0 Sign up for her email list \u00a0here \u00a0www.brendalmurphy.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Books available at<\/p>\n

Amazon\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

NineStar Press<\/a><\/p>\n

Knotted Legacy<\/a><\/p>\n

Both Ends of the Whip<\/a><\/p>\n

ONE \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Sum of the Whole\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Dominique and Other Stories\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past year I wrote 59 blog posts, wrote and submitted three novel-length manuscripts, and two short stories. I also renovated a house and did eighty percent of the work myself. I have young children, a partner, and older parents … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,318],"tags":[389,327,348,54,179],"class_list":["post-1787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-self-care","category-writing-advice","tag-brenda-murphy-adhd","tag-brenda-murphy-author","tag-brenda-murphy-ninestar-press","tag-craft-of-writing","tag-distraction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1787"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1791,"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787\/revisions\/1791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.writingwhiledistracted.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}