Young Writers

Connie Schultz, Journalist

By young writers, I mean women with a couple of babies, a job and a complicated life.

Recently a young woman wrote Pulitzer Prize winning writer and journalist, Connie Schultz, asking for help with how to write with so much going on.  Connie posted a photo of herself writing, obviously exhausted, with a baby in her lap.  I instantly remembered writing for many years with a baby (or two) in my lap.

Young Connie Schultz

As for the exhaustion, I think, being successful as a parent, as well as other parts of your life, means being exhausted for about 40 years (if you're lucky.)


I wrote because it was part of my other work but, since I wanted to be at home as much as possible, I wrote with many distractions.  But the primary reason I wrote was because I had to.  I'm a writer.  And you know that my definition of claiming to "be" any kind of artist is that  - "you have to do it."

And my very favorite kind of writing back then (as it is now) was about my own life.  Much of it was about stuff like the joyful frustration of having a baby (joyfully) dump oatmeal on his head.

Tina Fey, American Express ad

Now I'm no longer exhausted.  Or, when I am, I sit on my favorite place on the couch for as long as I want.  I'm at peace and wouldn't change a thing in my life.












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