This is why you need a support group.

For long time I wrote alone. I would get up in the morning, have coffee and then sit at my desk and write for an hour. I liked it, it worked for me. But then (a year ago), I had one of those days.

I chipped the end of the femur where it enters my ankle (4-6 months recovery) one of my dog’s split her nail (so it had to be cut back even with the end of the toe) and my daughter’s 10-year relationship ended. (she is far away so I cannot hug her).

That day, turned into one of those weeks. I had to cancel two lunches, one supper, a dental appointment and a hair appointment. My husband and I contracted have RSV (respiratory ~something, something~ virus). Mine started with razor blades in my throat and progressed from there. Larry just kept progressively sicker. He usually gets hit harder than me. I think it is because his metabolism is higher. (The price you pay to stay skinny.)

The final straw, at the end of that long week. My two young dogs got into a scuffle with a porcupine (they lost). Larry had been nursing a shoulder injury for months (from when he tripped over our old 13-year old deaf dog, as she slept as his feet. She’s fine.) In our flurry to get the pups back to the house, into the truck and to the vet, he reinjured his shoulder and I messed up my foot (again). Daisy the Dot dog (IYKYK) had 35 quills and Eddy, a Vizsla, had 20. We rushed to the vet and got in just befor they closed for the weekend.

When I first started writing, these events would have knocked me off my schedule and I would have spent at least a month getting back on track. Two years before that, I joined The StoryADayMay SuperStars. (One of the best things I ever did for my writing.) As luck would have it, they have a regularly scheduled writing sprint on Zoom at the exact time I like to write.

So, every morning when I woke up and my foot was throbbing and the dogs were whining and my husband moaned and coughed on the couch, I sipped my first coffee, played a game on my phone, fed the dogs, and refilled my cup. Then I limped up to my writing desk (12 stairs) and wrote for an hour with the other StoryADayMayer’s. Even though I didn’t “want to” I DID want to do it. (if you know what I mean) I knew people would show up “in the squares” and I would be inspired.

So once you have sufficiently felt sorry for me, (because that is really what I was going for) remember:

Never, Never Give Up on Your Writing

I also have a great critique group, who help prop me up. when I am feeling low. We try to meet once a week. Sometimes no “critiquing” gets done but we have a tight bond and seem to just know what we need to keep each other motivated.

YOU DO YOU!

Find a support system what works for you. Some of us do it online, some go and meet others in a library or coffee shop, others have accountability partners and some of us do blogs, newsletters, and have critique partners. All of these are good.