The Writer Mum

The thing about being a writer mum is guilt.

The 5am Club
Sadly not the writer's 5am club. No, this is the baby who didn't sleep through the night deciding this is the perfect time to wake up club. And so you feel guilty that you didn't get lots of writing done during that bleary hour or so before the other child wakes up.



Fish fingers and beans
Not a bad meal. But maybe not something they should be eating two or three times a week. And so you feel guilty that your children aren't eating their veggies and you feel guilty that you haven't cooked fantastic, nutritious meals every day.





Wishing for bedtime
Most parents wish for bedtime so they can have their time. You wish for bedtime so you can write. And then you feel guilty that you couldn't wait till they went to sleep. And then you feel guilty that you've left all your writing jobs until the end of the day and didn't do any in the daytime.




Having a cup of tea
Very occasionally you get to sit down and have a hot cup of tea. Maybe even catch up on a tv show you've been saving. But at the back of your mind is that little voice saying, you should be writing. And so flows the guilt.


Writing in the daytime
As a parent, there are many things you should be doing in the daytime. Cleaning, cooking, tidying and then, of course, playing with, reading to, doing crafty things with, going on play dates and so on and so on. So not only do you have the guilt that you didn't make paper mache dinosaurs today but you also have the guilt that you spent half an hour on the laptop instead of entertaining your small person.

Staying up late
Pulling an all-nighter to hit your 50k NaNoWriMo target might seem like a good idea at the time but the grumpy parental tiredness of the next day makes you think that maybe it wasn't worth it. And you have guilt for being the short-tempered, grumpy mum.



Things that help
Having an understanding partner and cute kids. Caffeine helps too, so feel free to buy me a coffee and keep me writing!

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. 

Find all her books on Amazon. 

Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.