Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Making Time to Write With Kids Guest blog by Heather Topham Wood








Making Time to Write With Kids
by Heather Topham Wood

I’m sure the following scene will sound familiar to other mothers who are writers:

His hand reached for her and she felt his touch awaken something deep within her soul…

“MOM! Luke is being mean to me!”

“Hold on, boys, give me one second!”

Her eyes drank in every inch of him and she knew this night would change her life irrevocably…

“MOM! Luke is chasing me with a fork!”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming.”

Let me start off by saying I LOVE my boys. Being a mom is the most rewarding and awesome thing I’ve ever done in my life. But it can also suck out all of your energy. After a long day of taking care of two little ones under the age of five, I’m not exactly feeling the creative juices flowing (it’s more like I’m cleaning up the spilled juices). However, I think it’s very important to keep up with your writing and carve out time for it each day. Here are a few tips I can offer up:

1) Invest in some Benadryl. No, I’m totally kidding. But if you’re lucky enough to have children that nap, take advantage of it. Even if the house looks like a bomb exploded, you can always straighten up later after you’re done writing.

2) Work around their schedules. Kids are busier than most CEOs these days and it’s always good to have a notebook or your laptop on hand to do some writing during after-school practice sessions. Writing after they go to sleep is something that also works very well for me.

3) Enlist help. Since I also write freelance articles, I treat any writing I do as a job. When the hubby gets home from work, it’s often daddy time. I slink off to my office while the boys get some bonding time in. Whoever you can get to help while you write, take advantage of it.

4) Create small and achievable writing goals. Writing 5,000 words per day is not likely to happen when you have little ones at home. Instead, write in small spurts whenever you have the chance. It may be a pain to walk away, but novel creation doesn’t have to stop when you walk away from the computer. I always work out scenes in my head or find inspiration when I’m taking walks with the boys. 

Thanks for letting me stop by for a guest post! Keep writing mommies!




First Visions 


by Heather Topham Wood
Second Sight Book One



Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother's home.

Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can't control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.  

Author bio

Heather Topham Wood graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor's degree in English. Working full-time as a freelance writer for publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine, she writes fiction novels in her spare time. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows.
First Visions is the first book in the Second Sight series.






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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for letting me stop by today!