Fiction Scribe

Last Friday, I interviewed Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Anne-Marie from Teacher Smackdown made this comment:

“As a future children’s book writer (some day, some day) I’d love to know how she wrote with such a small child in the house. I find that I need total silence and large blocks of time to write fiction, and having small children at home makes that impossible.”

I contacted Tansy and she responded:

“In the case of this particular book, it was easy because I finished it before my baby was born! It took a couple of years between the writing, the selling and the publication.

I struggle to find writing time - made doubly hard by the fact that since Raeli was born, I’ve also been trying to finish my PhD thesis.

But I have finished another novel since my daughter was born. The secret is Daycare. When she was one, I put her in for a couple of mornings a week in an excellent local centre (that they built in my street!) and it made all the difference. As a matter of fact, the advance I got for this book almost entirely went on the next year’s daycare fees. It kind of helps that she adores the place, has made lots of friends, and gets to do all those messy art projects so I don’t have to!

I still find it next to impossible to write when my child is in the house, even when she’s napping. There’s a part of a mummy that just can’t relax even if the child is asleep. But I have been trying to teach myself to write in smaller bits and even with distractions around. Practice makes perfect! I have adapted a lot since Raeli was born - I used to have to have a whole day clear in order to write properly, and I could only write at certain times and in certain places, but now that’s just an insane proposition, so I have forced myself to be realistic and to rein in my expectations. Writing is important to me, and so I prioritize it as my main “me” activity.
Neglecting the housework is also a great way to find writing time, and is part of a long literary tradition.

I think it’s important to remember that *everything* is different once you have small kids, but you still need to hang into those things that make you feel like you. If you really can’t write fiction in that time, try writing something else to keep your hand in, and to keep your writing muscles strong. I find that blogging and book reviews are dead easy to do even with a horde of elephants in my living room. It keeps me sharp so that I can take the opportunity to work on my fiction in the rare quiet times.

But, of course, when you do get an hour or two to yourself, the biggest temptation is to catch up on your sleep… and I don’t have any answers for that one! I usually choose sleep.

Cheers,
Tansy”