Writing or Life?

Cape Cod weather Today: Grey. But yesterday cleared up, so maybe today will too?

It seems that I am not as good of a multi-tasker as I'd like to think. So, either I can write - sit down and focus and write quite a bit, living inside my computer screen - or I can live in the real world and go on field trips and attend concerts and watch my son graduate from fifth grade. And maybe even mow the lawn or vacuum the living room.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to integrate my real-worl life and virtual life very well. This does not bode well for summer vacation, when kids will be here most of the time.

I'm back to the question, how do real writers do it all? They have kids and families and lives, don't they?

When I have a deadline, or a WIP I'm deep into, I can focus. I've been a reporter on deadline, I've worked as an editor with writers on deadline and know how to turn around a project. I had no problem turning around each round of edits that showed up in my inbox for Unfolding the Shadows. But...with no deadline looming and only an ouline and 40 pages written on my current WIP (work-in-progress) I don't feel the same urgency.

So I'm back to needing a schedule, I guess. Which may be easier when the kids are out of school and only at sailing lessons from 8-12. There's my writing schedule.