Crisp, sunny autumn in New England, my favorite season, and not just because there are vibrant canopies over winding back roads. I adore everything about this time of year, including football, hunting, and hockey. If you truly know me, then you are scratching your head and wondering if I drank too much dandelion wine at Shawn’s house. But I did not. The truth is, my most productive writing season kicks into gear when Scott, my husband, and best friend, becomes preoccupied with his favorite sports, (hockey & football) and the frost kills the undergrowth in the woods so he can take our two energetic English Setters and hunt for woodcock and grouse. Scott’s enthusiasm for his Minnesota teams, and the love of spending an afternoon tromping through the forrest in search of birds, leaves me with a weekend full of creative time.
When my children were younger I learned how to “steal time” during tae kwon do classes, or music lessons. The opportunity to write for 15-30 minutes in between taxi-ing them from one event to the next was a challenge I couldn’t resist. Over the years I developed a knack for “quick dips” into my novel. There wasn’t time to edit huge chunks in one sitting, so I would set myself a goal or editing 1-2 pages, or search for lazy words that needed replacing. In any one stolen moment it could feel like an insurmountable task. Over time, I managed to write and edit my entire first novel in this way over the course of two years.
This fall I have an enormous task at hand. I landed my first publishing contract with Green Writers Press and that means I need to steal more than a few minutes of time, I need to set aside some evenings and weekends to edit Aesop Lake and make it the best possible book that it can be by January 1st. And I will, thanks to the support of my family and my partner’s support for his favorite sports.
Sarah Ward 