Please join me in welcoming my sister, Ella Sheridan!

Dani: I can’t believe you’re here! Seems like we’ve done everything together. We went to school together, took the same classes, got the same major and minor degrees. Married within 6 months of each other and had all our kids pretty close together.

Then you had to copy me and start writing…

Ella: Now, I did start when we were teenagers. I just had to develop stamina. You didn’t start until you were older.

D: Still, we’ve always read voraciously.

E: I think you learn a lot from reading. A lot of the things I do now I do instinctively because I absorbed it. From a very young age we were learning about story details, arcs, and characterization. We were reading adult books at 12 or 13.

What I think is interesting is your process hasn’t really changed all that much through the years. Whereas mine has evolved…and in some cases, is all over the map.

D: I basically do brainstorming, then plot, and get it all down in extensive notes. Then I do a really fast, really rough draft before revising.

E: And your story doesn’t really change. Once you plot it, you don’t make any huge changes (to the story) after that. But I typically have a major change—

D: In just about every chapter! I really don’t know why you want to write the book twice…what’s the point of that?

E: If I could get it right the first time, it would be a lot easier. I’m just a glutton for punishment, I guess. I’ve done that with all except for 1 Nano book, which I only had to rewrite the ending of because my critique partner read it and said, um, I don’t think so.

D: You are a plotter, though, like me.

E: Yes, I plot—

D: –Then you re-plot.

E: Then I plot some more. And then I change those plots.

D: But you know when it’s right.

E: Yes, that’s the thing that has changed a lot with my GH book. I still struggle with the worry over whether its good enough, but I don’t worry if the story is moving in the right direction, because if it’s not right, I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t settle and have that calm in my head because I know something is off. Even if I don’t know what it is. And when I get a scene right, I have peace. I’ll worry about whether someone else will like it, but I know I’ve gone in the right direction.

That’s the biggest change with this book. I don’t know if it’s a confidence level or an evolution of my process or just this book.

D: I can’t help you there. I’m actually published and I haven’t figured it out. I get it ready to send in and think, “What if I screwed that up?” But it’s too late by then.

E: Well, I’m still working on plotting the next books a little at a time, and the thought of plotting book 2 of a 9 book series terrifies me. Because I do not want to repeat what I did with this one: force myself to write a rough draft that I knew wasn’t right but I thought, well I’ll just get it on the page and revise it. Oh, man, what a load of crap…

I have never struggled with revisions this bad, even though I’ve done major revisions on all of my previous 4 books, but this one was a major overhaul and a half – agonizingly painful to revise.  Part of it was that I didn’t know the rules of my world well enough. I hadn’t figured them out to my satisfaction. I tried to just push through it and hope that those details came. And that didn’t work.

The other part was that I wasn’t as familiar with my characters as I should have been. I mean, I’d been thinking about UNBROKEN’S characters for 3 years. I thought I knew them, and could write them. Then I started the book and…nope. Probably my first clue should have been that I had no music for this book. When I started writing I searched and searched. For me music is vitally important to plotting, getting through certain scenes, setting a mood in my mind—

D: Another thing we do the same.

E: Exactly. And with this book I could not find music that worked that way for me. Until I started the rewrite and then it finally fell into place. That was a huge warning sign that I ignored. You learn, though, and hopefully the next one will be easier.
Of course I always think that the next one will be easier. No. No its not.

D: Come on, girl. You’ve got to get it together. I say, as if I have it all together, and don’t call her every couple of weeks asking her to talk me off a ledge because I’ve freaked out over something.

E: We’re both needy. Something else we share. But it does kind of amaze me that our processes developed separately, but are still so similar. We both use the music, plot to an excessive extent, fill out forms and notes, and both need pictures of our characters. I need to be able to picture them, no matter how minor.

With Unbroken, I have pictures of places too. For the lair I googled underground bunkers, and came up with a home built into the ground in Sweden, but it’s all brushed concrete inside. I started looking at pictures of the inside, because they rent it to people –

D: You could actually go stay in your house!

E: Exactly! And this is where they got on the leather couch and… Research!

D: We get asked a lot, are you twins? Which is funny because I think the older we get, the less we look alike.

E: Me too. I think it’s the husband influence.

D: What would you say has been the neatest and the least favorite part of being a twin?

E: The least favorite part? I think now, there’s not anything about it I don’t like. But when I was just reaching adulthood, that was a hard time to kind of find out who I was –

D: Hey, you stole my answer!

E: Well, we are twins. I think that was a hard time to find myself, and I think it took me longer than the average person.

D: Yes, because you have to find who your identity is on your own. We had an identity as a set. But then we had to find our single identity outside of this other person, which is difficult when you’re with that person all the time. And used to being addressed as, well, one.

E: And thought of as a set. Sort of interchangeable, in a way. Even by people who should have known better.

D: It wasn’t until people got to know us, realized we had different personalities and different ways of approaching things, that we got the more individual approach.

E: The thing I like the most is I don’t have to go anywhere by myself if I don’t want to.

D: When I first started writing, it was the first major thing I ever did by myself. Even though getting married and starting a family were done separately, I was just adding another partner. And it was a normal pursuit.

But writing was outside the norm, and I had to do it alone, I had to walk into my first writers meeting by myself, make my first submission by myself. That is what helped me establish my identity more than anything. So when people talk about writing and how being a writer is something that is wrapped up in who you are, I think this is truer for me than it is for most people. Because it helped me establish myself as an individual person.

E: For me, it was more like following in your footsteps, so I felt like I had to work really hard to prove that I was good enough, that I wasn’t just going along. I had to really work hard.

That’s why the GH means so much to me too. It’s something we share, and that makes it more special to me. Probably less special for you, because you’re like I have to share this too? But for me, I feel like I’m following behind you and giving honor to a legacy, so to speak.

D: Aw, I have a legacy!

E: Don’t let it go to your head or anything… especially the next time you send line edits to me.

D: You do make my books better.

E: That’s an area I feel like I’ve come into my own. Not just with this book, but with my work as a line editor that helped set me apart and give us some differences. It’s something I specialize in. Also it helps that we aren’t targeting the same publishers either. So we’re doing the same thing but coming at it from different angles.

D: And even the things that are similar both have their own voice. We may look the same, but we don’t write the same.

E: Just like we have different personalities, we also have different voices and ways of carrying out our stories.

D: How about some fun facts?

1. We’re mirror image twins. Dani is left-handed and Ella is right-handed. We’re opposites in certain physical areas. We have the same moles on opposite sides of our faces.

2. Ella is allergic to a lot of things that Dani is not.

3. We have similar tastes in clothes, and are both struggling through that “I don’t want to look old” stage.

4. Ella is an inch taller than Dani but Dani is 2 minutes older than her.

5. We do have siblings, but the oldest is 18 years younger than we are. Our youngest sister is creative too, writing songs and poetry.

6. We handle conflict very differently. Ella is the fighter. Dani is more likely avoid conflict if at all possible.

7. Ella’s interest in martial arts adds a whole new element to her evil twin status. Dani is more of an elliptical kind of person, but Ella tells her how to hurt people in her books.

8. Dani’s 2009 GH book features a heroine who is trying to save her twin sister from a kidnapper.

D: The one thing that’s been the best about being a twin is I’ve never had to be alone, really. Through good times and bad. There’s always this person who is not only there, but actually gets it without you having to say anything.

E: We don’t have to explain things to each other.

D: All I have to do is look at you and you know what I’m thinking.

E: Just the lift of an eyebrow or the turn of the head and I get it completely. I could talk for hours at my husband and he wouldn’t get it. I want to say, “Can’t you read my mind?” But no. No, he can’t.

The older we get, the stronger the twin telepathy gets. “I’m not feeling good today. Think I’ll give Dani a call.” Yep, she’s sick.

D: That really has gotten stronger. It didn’t really develop fully until we were adults. I only remember 1 incident of telepathy as a teenager, but other than that it was mostly once we were older. Now it’s strengthening to the point that instead of being triggered by extreme emotions, it’s more everyday things.

One day, Ella texted me and said, “Did you hear from your editor today? Because I’m feeling unusually antsy.” I replied, “I got my celebratory sale shoes.” Oh, so that’s what the excitement is all about…

Dani and Ella will be hanging around today, answering questions about plotting, characterization, being Golden Heart sisters, and anything twins.

Ella Sheridan is a 2013 GH finalist in the Paranormal category with her manuscript, UNBROKEN. She’s a member of RWA and writes contemporary romantic suspense and paranormal with an erotic flare. Her spare time is filled not just with freelance editing, but also teaching karate/jujitsu classes. You can learn more about her here. 

UNBROKEN:

The human world is populated with myths that allow them to pretend their plain, mundane world is more than it seems—except those myths are true. They stem from one shape-shifting species, the Archai. The Archai’s special abilities gave birth to the legends humans revered, but man can never truly understand what it means to be Archai. Their gifts. Their purpose. The depths of their betrayals.

Arik counts on no one but himself, and he likes it that way. Isolated, alone, he watches and waits for the opportunity to gain the only thing he’ll allow himself to desire: revenge. Then, in the dark of night, the perfect weapon falls unexpectedly into his grasp.

Kat is always on the outside looking in. She’s resigned to being invisible, until an innocent walk home from work is interrupted by a savage attack, forever changing the person she’s always been. Now she’s the focus of a man bent on destroying her world to settle his own score.

Two wills clashing. Two empty hearts in need of each other. Surrendering to the hunger between them is a given, but a deadly enemy lies in wait, and surrendering their souls may be the only thing that saves them.

In this case, I was able to follow the leading of my hero – my rock star hero.

When I first envisionsed Michael Korvello, little voices nagged at me. There’s a long-held rumor that editors don’t want Rock Stars. They aren’t popular enough. But still he hung around – that bad boy, brooding rocker attracted to the anti-thesis of his high profile lifestyle, his nanny.

I just couldn’t get him out of my mind, and before long, despite the push and pull of my first print release and new proposals, I had the full-blown story of a man who was lonely but afraid of revealing his true nature. And a woman so battered by life that trust had been all but obliterated – especially for a first rate performer.

So I chose to follow my characters and discovered a world beneath a world. The performer who wants to be seen and loved as a real man. A family who misses him. A woman who learns to trust him to protect her. A brother who teases and torments him, but who always has his back – on and off the road.

They took me on a journey and I enjoyed every minute! (Well, until I reached revisions.) A journey of a family trying to find each other again, and a man hell bent on using his sexual talents to teach a woman everything that she’s capable of, and everything they can be together.

So let’s celebrate those fun journeys we get to take when we follow wherever our characters lead! Share the last “fun” discovery you made about your book/characters while writing!

One commenter will win a giftie! An Amazon or B&N giftcard for a new journey of discovery.

Dani

But I recently ran into a situation that made me think twice.

From the time I started writing, I’ve had to work up the courage to tell people I was an author. I still vividly remember the nervous churning in my stomach when I told my husband I wanted to write my first book. I’m a lucky woman. He was supportive of me as so many people have been along the way. Being outed as a romance writer at a church women’s retreat broke me of a lot of worry, since having 40 people take turns asking, “What do you write?” creates a bit of a thick skin.

But I’ve now found myself actively deciding to keep my authordom a secret. Only in one place – my new day job. I work in an office with six women, but only 2 of them know I write. Why keep it a secret? An upper management boss who only proves more and more how much of a problem this would be with her. She’s extremely conservative and holds to an old-school level of professionalism. She finds something to criticize, no matter how small. That shirt’s a little too low in the front. Those shoes aren’t professional enough. That subject is too personal for the office. While I wouldn’t lie if asked directly, I’m not going out of my way to “share”.

As more time passes, I realize how much of my true self I’m hiding each day. I’m living a double life and not very happy about it. So much of myself is tied up in my writing. I find it very hard not to share my writing triumphs with my fellow workers. To not mention when my characters are giving me a hard time while everyone talks about their rough days. I even have to keep mum about my plans for the weekends, since “writing, writing, and more writing” might raise some eyebrows. But I draw the line at hiding my writing on my lunch break. I usually have a notebook or laptop and what I’m doing on my time is no one’s business – and no one has asked directly yet. Much to my surprise. That particular boss has caught me in the break room and asked questions about my laptop, but draws short of questioning what I’m actually working on.

I haven’t decided exactly what I’ll say when she asks. Not because I’m ashamed of my writing, or what I write, but because I don’t want to be hassled over something that’s none of her business.

So my question for all of you is: When do you tell? When do you not? Are there certain situations you avoid, or have you become comfortable enough to share indiscriminently?

Dani

I’ll check in on my lunch break and after work! Another thing I’m not allowed at this job is personal use of the internet, which I understand a lot more but is very hard when I’d like to be playing with all of you!!!  :)

“I never have time to read anymore.”

“It’s been a year since I’ve read anything besides my own work.”

“I don’t read because (insert reason here). But that’s okay.”

Um, no. It isn’t.

I’ve heard statements like these aplenty through the years and they’ve always made me a little sad. It wasn’t until I found myself in the same boat that I started to examine this phenomenon. There are so many excuses for us, as writers, to not read, and the majority of them boil down to one basic reason: TIME.

But I’ve begun to question: Will our writing/creativity suffer if we don’t read?

Reading for pleasure should be a treasured gift to writers. After all, the majority of us came to writing through reading. But it also allows writers to:

1. Re-experience what its like for a reader to get “lost in a book”. We all have memories of this magical phenomena, but the more distant the recollection, the less the potency. Reaffirm your own wish for your readers by returning to your reading roots.

2. Absorb new techniques – not by “studying/dissecting” the written word, but through effortless osmosis. Just like we did before we ever started writing. Later, after you come out the other side of the story, you can ask yourself why you loved the characters or what kept you turning the page. But relax and let your writer’s eye take knowledge in while your reader’s brain is fully engaged.

3. Doing anything you enjoy, sparking your imagination, refills the creative well that gets drained with every project you invest yourself in. It relaxes you, opens your creativity to possibilities, and generally brings us to that peaceful place where we can create without straining or overburdening ourselves.

4. Being a writer doesn’t mean forsaking those things we enjoy. If we do, then our writing suffers. This quote from NYT bestselling author Linda Howard explains this very well:

The fact is, being a writer doesn’t mean you have no life other than writing, any more than being a schoolteacher means you live in the classroom and do nothing else.  Our lives are just like everyone else’s, other than the writing part.  We still have dentist appointments, need flu shots, have fender-benders and children (not sure there’s a difference <G>).  Those things — normal as they are — are stressful enough without throwing in the added stress of feeling frantic because they’re taking away from our writing time.  We still need to enjoy ourselves.  We’re driven by some weird internal chemistry, but we need to give ourselves a break.

Life happens to everyone.  It’s here for us to live, and we should live it, because otherwise we’ve thrown away the most precious part of our writing.  If we give up doing what we enjoy, whether it’s reading or taking long walks or anything else, we’ve given away a precious spark that makes us more human.  Yeah, you may write a more technically perfect manuscript if you devote every free hour to it, but if you really live, you’ll be able to write a more vital, human manuscript — and, as a reader, I can tell you that I’d rather read a book where the characters come alive, than one that’s technically perfect but is as limp as uncooked bacon.

That about says it all…don’t you think?

While I know all of this is true, TIME is still an issue. Believe me, as a writer with a full-time day job and a family, I know this is true. So let me share some strategies for fitting reading into a very busy life.

1. Read a little each night before bed or to unwind after work. If you’re the type of reader who can string out a good book, twenty minutes a day would work well for you. Give you a little boost at the end of a long day.

2. Another option for this type of reader is to carry a book in your purse and read while waiting in line, out to eat, etc. Fill those little pockets of time with the yumminess of good characters and thrilling plots.

3. I, unfortunately, can’t read a short time and put an interesting book down. I’m more of a binge reader, so I’ve set up a reward day (or weekends for big projects) when I give myself permission to indulge. Some reward-worthy tasks include finishing a rough draft, after revisions, after completing a writing challenge, or after a set period of strenuous writing. Then I can dip into a new book guilt-free (mostly) and come back to my own writing refreshed.

4. Set up a regular date night – just yourself and your new favorite book. Whether its once a week, every two weeks, or one weekend a month, mark your calendar for a regular reading time as a reminder that its important (and essential to your creative function) to enjoy some downtime.

So as a writer, do you still read? Let’s talk about the whys, the why nots…and how you work reading into your writing schedule.

But all this partying makes it tough to get any writing done. The list of things to do can extend to infinity sometimes (or at least feel like it). All this extra party planning can really cramp my writing style. I’m sure even you non-writers find time short during this busy season. So what’s an author to do?

Here are a few tips:

1. Up your word count on the days you CAN write.

I know this sounds like it will take even more time, but when you do get uninterrupted writing time, do your best to up the amount of your goal. My usual goal for weekdays is 750 words, but for December I’m aiming for 1250. This way, I can manage a few days off during the month without guilt or getting really behind. So push yourself to do more, and enjoy your reward later.

2. Take it One Small Step at a Time

It can be overwhelming to sit down and face a 1000 word goal, but how about 250 words? Oftentimes, I don’t write my whole goal in one sitting. I can’t, because I have very few uninterrupted chunks of time in my day. So here’s how I approach it: During my morning break at work, I plot out the scenes I’m going to work on that day. Then on my lunch break (30 minutes) I type on the Alphasmart. I also have 1 hour set aside for writing directly after dinner. I try to keep that sacred (doesn’t always work, but I try).

Then thirty minutes while the kids do homework or clean their rooms or 30 minutes while the hubby watches a television show. Just 30 more minute before bedtime, then I can sleep. You’d be surprised how much easier it is to tackle any large project in smaller steps.

3. Be Prepared

For plotters, this is much easier. But it is also doable for pantsters too. Before putting down your pen for the day, take a few moments to write out the first few sentences of your next scene. Make sure your notes on the coming pages are complete and you have a decent map for where you are heading. This will make jumping into the next session much easier (no staring at a blank page wondering what the heck you were thinking to have them break into the warehouse so soon…) and your writing will flow more quickly from the start.

I find a To Do list essential for big projects and my writing is no different. This way, I can see how much time I have, then jump into whatever task I have time for, without worrying I’ll forget what else needs to be done.

4. Utilize the Buddy System

Find a writing friend who needs to accomplish as much as you do at this time. Vow to keep each other accountable. Daily emails require you to send in those totals, even if the sum is 0 (and embarrassing enough to force your hands to the keyboard). Set up times for write ins (getting together for the sole purpose of writing—bookstores are great for this).

And don’t forget a reward. Plan an outing to get your nails painted or a massage when all the hard work is done. A night out to dinner with some girlfriends. Or form an accountability group where everyone pitches in $10, and the top three performers during the holiday season get to split the pot for After Christmas shopping! This will give you a tangible reward, other than the relief you’ll feel when you see all those words on the page.

My hope is that you’ll be able to be as productive as I hope to be this holiday season. We’re all busy. I know that. But you can still manage something (this is me giving ME a pep talk here). So tell me your best advice for getting writing (and other holiday tasks) done during this busy time. (because I need all the help I can get!)

Dani: I’ve yet to see 2 characters so diametrically opposed to each other as Mia and Chase—the workaholic versus the slacker—who appear on the surface to be opposites in every way. Yet their happily ever after feels very right! Did the nature of their differences make finding their common ground harder?

Vivi:  I love opposites attract stories.  Who better to open our eyes to a new way of seeing the world than someone who looks at it from such a completely different viewpoint?  Chase and Mia do have a lot of ground to cover to find a way to meet in the middle, but the fact that they’re able to fill in the gaps in one another’s lives makes them the perfect team. Some readers have compared Mia to Brennan from Bones or Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and Chase is able to be her bridge to a less intellectually focused world, while Mia is able to ground him.

 Dani: For a book written in your trademark humorous style, this story tackles a pretty heavy subject: the opposition between scientific and magical belief systems. The woman who wishes she could make her family forget their dependence on a “charmed” watch, and the man who will use his psychic powers to find the watch after she loses it. Where did the ideas for Mia’s way of thinking and Chase’s rebuttals originate? Any real life experience thrown in there?

Vivi:  You know, I wasn’t consciously pulling anything from real life, but my sister (to whom I dedicated the book) is a fiercely serious scientist and my brother was the kind of smooth-talker who could make the most skeptical among us believe in magic (not unlike Chase).  I suppose hearing my siblings bickering all those years growing up has finally paid off in Chase & Mia’s banter. 

 Dani: The characters in FINDER’S KEEPER are delightfully unique – a true scientist who views the world on a detailed, analytical level and an extremely laid back hero. Yet the more we get to know Chase and all he’s been through, the more his choices make us fall in love with him. Then we have Mia’s crazy Italian family and the traditions that keep them close. Characterization is an incredible strength in your stories! Any suggestions for the writers out there on how to make those characters come alive?

Vivi:  Thank you!  My characters always feel like real people to me, alive inside my head, so I’m delighted to hear that some of that translated to the page.  Unfortunately I’m not sure I have any fabulous tips on characterization.  I guess the trick is to never make your characters do something in service of the plot.  To always let them be themselves and build the story around that truth.

 Dani: Our readers might be familiar with your wandering lifestyle (we Rubies get to live vicariously through your frequent travels). Will you share a little about your most recent trip? What was your favorite part?

 Vivi: I am a certifiable travel junkie.   My latest trip was actually pretty close to home (compared to Egypt, China, New Zealand, and some of my other adventures).  I recently spent a good chunk of time in rural New England and Quebec – hiking and enjoying the fall foliage people had been telling me so much about – but my absolute favorite part of the trip was my very first ever flying trapeze lesson!  There’s a trapeze school in Bostonand I treated myself to a lesson as a reward when I finished my latest manuscript.  I flew!  (And afterward I ached in muscles I didn’t remember I had.)  The experience was amazing.  Highly recommended.  You can bet I’ll be back dangling from that bar soon, jumping off the platform when they yell “Hup!”

 Dani: You are an incredibly prolific writer! With 3 novels, 12 novellas, and 1 short story on store shelves, I know you have even more in the works. What’s on the horizon for you? Any chance we might get to see Karma’s story (head of Karmic Consultants in the Karmic Consultants series)?

 Vivi:  Funny you should ask, since I just heard (breaking news!) that Karma’s book, Naughty Karma, will have a Fall 2013 release to close out the KC series. (Woot!)  Now that I’ve delivered the last Karmic book, I’m exploring some new series ideas and considering heading in a shiny new direction.  On to the next adventure!

Today let’s talk our favorite “opposites attract” stories! What are the two characters whose banter and push/pull interactions you’ve most enjoyed? What did the author do to make their relationship funny or sexy without simply being antagonistic?

About FINDER’S KEEPER:

Love isn’t a science. It’s pure chemistry.

Karmic Consultants, Book 6

True love? For neuroscientist Dr. Mia Corregianni, it’s just an unproven hypothesis. But when she loses the heirloom watch her family believes is enchanted with a potent love spell, she fights superstition with superstition by hiring a psychic finder to track it down.

Chase Hunter is a human compass, homing in on whatever the seeker wants most—that is, when he isn’t surfing or actively avoiding anything resembling a real human attachment. Such has been his life since an accident took his family.

Unfortunately, Mia’s case isn’t a simple insta-Find. The catch? To disguise his real mission from her romance-crazy family, he has to pretend to be her boyfriend. He could deal with that if her complicated emotions weren’t blocking his abilities—or if her innermost desires weren’t walloping him upside the head every time he opens himself to his gift.

As the case wears on, their fake romance begins to feel all too real. Scary stuff for a man who’s reluctant to let himself live again. And a woman who doesn’t believe in magic…or love.

Warning: This book contains meddling grandmothers, magic watches, and a surfer with a body so hot it can teach any scientist the true meaning of chemistry.

FINDER’S KEEPER can be found at Amazon, B&N, and Samhain.

Keep up with Vivi’s upcoming releases and exciting adventures through her website!

Unlike a lot of moms, I dread the summer holidays from school. Not because I don’t love my children, but because now I must accomplish everything I did during the school year, only now I must stop every 20 minutes to mediate the newest argument or answer endless questions about a video game I’ve never played. Sound familiar? I’ve been brainstorming some solutions that I hope will keep me (and you) sane while we try to continue writing this summer.

1. Set up a daily schedule.

I know, this is summertime, why do we want a schedule, but trust me, having one just might save your sanity. I’m not talking about a super rigid, watching-every-second-on-the-clock type schedule, but a more fluid style that allows for flexibility within the parameters. This will allow the kids to know what’s coming up, and not wake up looking at a full day with nothing to do (boredom) and searching for ways to fill the hours (mischief).

For instance, I joined a gym during the school year, so this summer we’ll be trecking there every day. That gives me a set time to get up and get everyone ready to leave the house, instead of hours of television before noon. I’m planning to encourage the kids to play outside in the cooler mornings (which they enjoy, so that shouldn’t be too hard), then allow television and video games in the heat of the afternoon (sorry, I’m not one of those moms who keeps ultra-close tabs on how long her kids watch television every day). I’ve maintained a ‘siesta’ of sorts since my kids were babies. Though they’ve outgrown naps, I still require us all to lay in the bed and read for an hour every afternoon. Not only does that get some summer reading in, but we all get a break from each other for a while (and Mommy gets a few minutes of peace and quiet).

2. Day Camps/Lessons

Keeping the kids from getting bored is a big problem during the summer. Not because I think kids should be entertained 24/7, but because too many days of boredom in a row leads to endless fighting between siblings (something I hate with a passion). One help for that is summer activities. I can’t afford for mine to go all summer, but I try to schedule something here and there for us to do outside of the house. A couple of summers they took a week’s worth of swim lessons, one summer it was a week of soccer camp, my daughter usually goes to a week of day camp with Girl Scouts, that type of thing. The local library offers summer reading activities. There is also a local Science Museum for kids that offers morning classes on different fun science projects and activities. One every couple of weeks gives them something interesting to look forward to. And gives me a morning to write without interruption.

3. Free Activities Away from Home

Speaking of writing time, I’ve learned from the time my kids were born to make use of every opportunity I had. I get lazy about that during the school year, but the lesson is driven back home in the summertime. Another way to combine writing time with entertaining the kids is to find places that will occupy them, get them out of the house, where I can sit on the sidelines and write. If you have a local park, that’s always a good one. We don’t have one nearby, but there is one about 30 minutes away, so I try to make the occasional trip over there for something different. It has only 1 entry/exit, so I station myself nearby and send the kids off to play while I hit the laptop for a bit. Chuck E Cheeses or McDonalds play places work for smaller kids (I’ve learned to tune out the noise, for the most part). Older kids could be let loose at the mall or movie theater while you chill at the food court or coffee shop with a notebook. And bookstores are great for all ages.

4. Babysitting on a Budget

I’d dearly love to have a babysitter several days a week during the summer, but it just isn’t affordable or practical. Instead, I’ve gotten creative to find ways around it. For instance, my sister and I Kid Swap during the summer. Every Thursday, 1 of us takes both of our kids from 9:30am to 4:30pm, giving the other one a full day to themselves. The next week, we swap. Thus every other week, I’m free for a day, my kids get other children to play with, and it doesn’t cost either of us anything. And I find my kids are actually easier to handle on the days we have company, because they have someone to occupy them besides me. :)

Another option would be to pool your resources. This summer, several of us are planning to meet at one house and hire a babysitter to keep all the children (4-6) for the day while we hightail it to a local bookstore to hunker down with our laptops. We already meet like this while the kids are in school (we call it Write Out) and know it can be productive. It also motivates us to write at other times during the week and we want to keep our productivity from slacking during the summer. This requires us to only find 1 sitter, and she gets paid handsomely for watching over kids who are basically playing together. It’s a win-win.

5. That’s What Grandparents Are For

It just so happens that this will be the first year that both my children will spend a week with my family several states away. My daughter has gone for several years now, but my son is only just now old enough. This is wonderful, and I’m indebted to my mother for offering, but I realize it isn’t an option for everyone. Grandparents are wonderful, but not always willing to take on this big a task.

That doesn’t mean getting their help is totally out of the question. We also have grandparents who live in town, and while they can’t keep my children for a week because of living arrangements, they can have them over. Consider asking grandparents if they could keep the children one day a week, or if they could plan 2 mini-vacations during the summer where the children spend 2-3 days with them. Scheduled ahead of time instead of last minute planning will allow you to place these strategically where they would be the most help, and give your children the chance to spend some true quality time with grandparents. It doesn’t hurt to ask. 

These are just some options to help make your summer (and mine) a bit easier on the whole family, and friendly to your writing goals. But my biggest advice (to you and to me) is to be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that might come your way. That unexpected call from a friend inviting the kids over for the afternoon could put you 10 pages ahead of your summer goals. Also, keep a running total of your progress on a calendar. This will keep you aware of how much you are writing/not writing, and you will get to the end of the summer with some great things accomplished, instead of wondering where all the time went.

Do you have any suggestions for Summer Kid Patrol? Or keeping the kids from fighting, because I could always use the help!