Because at some point, you will drop the ball. And that’s OK.

Day Job has resumed, leading to predictable chaos with my schedule. Predictable in the sense that 1) I know my routines will get shuffled, 2) writing will slow or semi-stop for a while, and 3) things settle down and I readjust, as does my writing. Happens every year about this time, and lasts until next spring. So I can anticipate the need to rearrange priorities, and sort out when to give myself writing time, and when I must do other things. Oh, yes, and household stuff, like feeding family members (2 footed), feeding the other family member (4 footed)*, weeding and watering plants, and so on.

Then there’s the unpredictable changes, the ones Life tosses at us. Car problems, friends coming to visit, illness, bad weather, good weather (what do I DO with all this squash?!?), that sort of thing. Some are welcome, others not as welcome, but all can upset our writing plans and creativity.

You can’t do it all. Don’t beat yourself up because you can’t do it all. Karen, Amanda when she was active, Sarah, Cedar, Dave, all of them have pointed out that Life Happens. You will drop balls, miss deadlines, and so on. None of us are perfect. So what do you do?

If you have a blog or social media presence, let readers know that there will be a delay. I’ve found that people tend to appreciate hearing that “Because of Life, the next book will come out three weeks later than I had thought.” They know it is still coming, and as long as you are upfront about delays, are forgiving.

If you have agreed to write for an anthology, let your editor know ASAP. If you can recommend a replacement, if you absolutely will not be able to make deadline, that’s great, and will earn you a lot of good karma and keep you on people’s good list. If you have a preorder up on Amazon, well, I’d take it down. Yes, the ‘Zon will ding you a little, but better to take it down early rather than lose later sales because readers did not get what was promised. (One reason why I am hesitant about preorders, since Murphy takes copious notes and has a perfect memory. It’s better than mine, actually.)

Steal a minute here and there, write a line or two, sketch a scene or a picture, read an article or watch a video related to your story. It adds up, and when you can slot more focused writing time into your schedule, you will be ready to make the best use of what you have.

Whatever works, use it. And don’t beat yourself up, please.

Semper Gumbi – always flexible.

*Of the groups, the four-footed is far less understanding of delays than are the two-footed.