Writer's Block and other Distractions

Well, I've made it. It's halfway through summer and I've survived the kids being home full time. I'm not as sure about my writing, though. I'm going through a nasty case of distracted writers syndrome. It's terrible. Even my writer's website has become a means of procrastination for me. I know that it will get better. That I will work through this. I can feel it in my bones. Every doubt that I have, every time I think I'll never finish a story, there's always one thing I know. I will continue to write. I have to. It's in my blood.

But, as I sit here, there's a decision that needs to be made concerning this fall. Do I renew my substitute license or do I give up that means of income? Do I go back to school myself or do I just focus on my writing? Do I pursue a professorship? Do I take the steps to teach college level English and writing? I know that many writers do it as a way to make money. However, I also know that there are only so many hours in a day and only so many things that I can focus my attention on at a time. My girls and their activities aren't going anywhere, so it's my own that I may need to change.

Sometimes I wish that there was a magic 8 ball that would give me all the right answers. Where's my big, blinking neon sign that tells me the direction to go? I could certainly use one right now. Do I focus solely on what I love even though it makes NO money (right now, has the potential to make lots) or do I make some money for my family even though it's doing something that I know I don't want to focus my life on. My conscience tells me that to do both will no longer work. I must focus on one or the other. I can't be a part-time writer. If I'm going to do this, if I'm going to write novels, I need to put in full days.

So who do I pick? Me or my family?

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