I’m currently on maternity leave and I’m loving getting to pretend to be a ‘proper writer’ amidst looking after my baby (K) and three-year-old (H). I write mostly picture books and young adult, with a bit of everything in between. I’ve realised from writing this that I spend as much of my time attempting (and failing) to write as I do actually writing!

Monday

Today I’m determined to finish a new draft of my picture book ahead of sending to Clare Helen Welsh, who I’m meeting with (virtually) next week. I was lucky enough to win Clare’s Books That Help 2024 Mentorship and it’s been incredible working with her. Clare also leads the WriteMentor Hub picture book group and the six week picture book writing course.

Juggling the baby with writing is tricky. I much prefer to write on my laptop, but I will write on my phone when forced. For some reason it’s easier to write picture books than it is novels on my phone. But in any case, I really need the baby to sleep in order to get this draft finished!

K (my baby) of course does not get the memo and is the fussiest and most wakeful I’ve seen him, only happy when attached to me. Is he teething? Is he ill? He screams at me at least five times before I realise that sucking his fists is no longer a hunger cue – he’s discovered his hands and is busy investigating them with his mouth. And I’m getting in the way of that. Oops.

Eventually I put K in a sling and rock from foot to foot whilst reading my picture book draft out loud to him. This isn’t too bad. K falls asleep (not sure if that’s a good sign in terms of the picture book or not). Every time I try to put K down and give my aching shoulders a rest he starts screaming again. Oh dear. Eventually we come to an agreement, he stays in the sling, and I finish editing my picture book. Hooray! (Sorry shoulders).

Tuesday

I’ve got both K and my eldest, H (3), today. Let’s go to soft play, I decide. It will tire everyone out and maybe I can do some more writing when we get home.

I say soft play, but what I mean is hell on earth. Especially in the summer holidays. Never again (until next time).

I don’t get a chance (mostly because after soft play I’m a jibbering wreck) to do anything writing related until the evening when my husband puts my eldest to bed. It’s the WriteMentor Agent Q&A with Molly Jamieson and I’ve even managed to submit a question in advance. It’s excellent, but 30 minutes in K wakes up from the sling and remembers it’s his witching hour. He screams so loudly I can’t hear the talk. Then my husband texts that H, my eldest, needs a good night cuddle… By the time I’m back downstairs the Q&A is over (nevermind I can watch it on catch up) and I realise I’ve not actually sent said picture book manuscripts to Clare. K is unceremoniously handed to my saintly husband whilst I finish the email.

Wednesday

It’s an exciting day for me because H is in nursery all day, so lots of writing time. Even better, K has gotten the message and decided he does like to nap after all! Hooray! Especially given he was up from one am to three am with one of those lovely ‘I don’t have a circadian rhythm yet’ parties.

So I sit and attempt to do my developmental edit of my teen crime novel.

Except I can’t concentrate.

K will probably wake up any minute right?

I complain to my fellow morning sprinters on WriteMentor who are very sympathetic and kind.

Maybe I should sleep when the baby sleeps.

I lie down but I can’t sleep. When does Undiscovered Voices close again? Maybe I should work on that.

I get a solid half an hour in, writing my synopsis, before K wakes up. He has a feed and make funny faces at him in an attempt to get some first smiles.

Once he’s asleep it’s time to write again.

I’m so tired it’s hard to keep going, so I watch the rest of the Molly Jamieson Q&A. And before I know it, it’s time to go and collect my eldest from nursery.

Thursday

My day starts at five am when K decides it’s morning with a gorgeous smile and lots of cooing. There was a time when I aspired to wake up at five am to write. (Aspired being the key word, I rarely managed earlier than six am). Ah well.

My husband takes K with him to drop my eldest at nursery. This means I have thirty minutes to eat breakfast, make coffee and write. I get about ten minutes into editing my teen novel before they’re back and K wants a feed.

I hope that K will fall asleep feeding but he doesn’t. Never mind I think, he’ll fall asleep soon enough. I want to work on my pitch for PitchHero, listen to a writing podcast someone recommended and edit my teen novel.

Does K fall asleep? Reader, he does not.

I’m meeting a friend for coffee so I decide to head to the cafe an hour early so that K will sleep and get some writing time there.

Does he fall asleep?

Yes! He does!

For ten minutes!

I end up rocking the pram with one hand and editing my pitch on my phone with the other whilst moaning to my fellow Write Mentor sprinters. Everyone has something kind and encouraging to say and at least I get to put the world to rights over coffee with my friend.

After lunch it’s time to pick my eldest up from nursery, so of course when K does finally sleep I’m busy playing car parks and Spiderman. Not a very productive writing day today!

Friday

I have no childcare today and so whilst I’d love to say I sat and watched my children, inspired by their play, and came up with lots of ideas in my head…. Actually I am mostly frazzled and tired, peering out over the top of my coffee mug at the world. Still, I scribble the odd idea down and read Harry ‘Supertato’ approximately five hundred times. They say you should read a lot if you want to be a writer… not sure if reading the same book over and over again is exactly what this advice means, but toddlers be toddlers!

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