5 Things that Motherhood Has Changed in My Writing

Difficult as it may be to believe, my little Xaviana is 9 months old, and we’ve gotten into a (slightly variable) daily routine of naptimes, playdates, outings, education, exercise, cleaning up, and–yes–writing. Currently, I’m working on book 4 of the Amish Friendships series, and I realized how much my writing has evolved since I became a mom. Here are the top 5 changes that I’ve noticed.

A day in the life of the multitasking writer-mom… Image courtesy of ocregister.com

1. The characters – Before and even during my pregnancy, I wrote YA novellas about Amish kids growing up and falling in love, with a brief foray into mermaid fantasy fiction. Now that I’ve become a mom, however, the heroes and heroines have become more mature, and most of them have children present or on the way. After all, we write what we know; despite my best efforts to separate my personal and professional lives, the changes in my own character often seep into my imaginary characters!
2. The storylines – While family has always been a primary theme in my writing as well as life, it has become even more important since my baby girl made her appearance. Many of my Amish novellas feature young parents chasing their bobblin around, feeding them, or just describing their escapades. I’ve found that babies are an awesome literary device to add comic relief, increase tension, or bring about conflict between couples, friends, and family.
3. The frequency of book releases – Despite my best efforts, releasing a new book every month just isn’t in the stars. Sometimes every other month doesn’t even work out, but I aim for that. It’s just the nature of the beast!
4. The blog posts – They’re less frequent too, but the most notable change is in their content. On this blog and Prego in San Diego, my posts now center upon mom activities and balancing motherhood and writing, since these are the topics I currently find most inspiring. I also feel like my experiences will be most helpful to readers, since I’m living them now!
5. My efficiency – This is perhaps the most positive change; I have become much more efficient at churning out content. Before Xaviana, my workdays consisted entirely of writing, but now I only have about two hours per day to write. This means that I must be laser-focused, getting “in the zone” right away so that I can optimize my limited writing time. However, like zillions of other moms before me, I’ve risen to the challenge. Woohoo!

Writer-moms out there, what changes has motherhood brought about in your writing? I’d love to hear your thoughts!