Aside from being an author, I juggle being a full-time librarian, and full-time wife/mom. I work 40 hours a week, then come home to care for my daughter (soon to be daughters!), and then sometimes have time to make small talk with my husband after bedtime. It’s a tough schedule, especially when trying to fit in personal writing time. But the thing is, if you like something, you make time for it. You do it, no matter what—no matter how hard it is.
So I do! I write at odd times, in odd places. If I wake up early and try to get a few words in before breakfast, I write at the kitchen table. If I’m on a roll, or on deadline, I write during my lunch breaks at work. This is done usually behind the library where I work, against the wall, right up by the dumpster. Not the BEST working environment, but, you know, it’s quiet. If I’m not exhausted, I’ll write after my daughter goes to bed (or while my husband is putting her to bed) and that’s typically on my bed (which is never a good idea because I end up falling asleep rather quickly. I mean, bed!). On nights I work late, I’ll go to a coffee shop and write there.
The funny thing is, I DO have a really cool antique desk. It just holds a lot of things right now. And every time I step up to it to actually write, motivation is lost. So I guess it doesn’t hold the power after all.
So do I have a writing space? Not really, I have several. Do I have a routine? Nope, not at all. Do I get stuff written? Absolutely. It’s not easy. Some days it’s a struggle just to open Word, and some days I can write 1,000 words. But I keep going because I want to—because I feel like I need to. And I really like that feeling.
Lauren Gibaldi is a public librarian who’s been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master’s in Library and Information Studies. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and daughter. Her books include THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, AUTOFOCUS, and the forthcoming THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD. She loves dinosaurs, pasta, musicals, and cheesy jokes. She is represented by Claire Anderson-Wheeler with Regal Hoffmann & Associates.
