Writing frustrations

Some days, I really wonder why I'm a writer.

It's like any job. Good days. Bad days. But because I essentially work for myself, it's up to me to set the discipline of actually doing it. Scheduling is impossible. I have two kids, 12 and 14, with active lives. I have to do all the typical mom stuff, and because I rely on carpooling with someone who can't tell me until very shortly before a time whether or not she can do it, I have to be able to change my plans at a moment's notice.

So I give myself simple goals. One thousand words on this story. Five hundred words on a different story. Answer xxx emails. That kind of thing. Most of the time, it works for me.

But there are days - or weeks, as this has been - where even those goals elude me. Any number of factors might be the culprit. Impromptu doctor/dentist appointments. School activities that only happen every once in a while. Feeling under the weather. When this happens, it's easy to start losing track of what keeps me motivated, or losing the flavor of a story. Sometimes, it even means losing enthusiasm for the story altogether. It's up to me to find it again, because I'm my boss.

It makes me wonder why my boss self hasn't fired my writer self for being so unpredictable. :P