I am a writer . . . huzzah!

I am half way through my kid's visit with my ex. Part of my plan was to do a lot of writing durring this time and boy have I succeeded. I am almost finished with the first edit of my middle grade manuscript, I have written a couple of articles, a couple of blog posts, and a whole list of other things.

It's alot!

I used to think, "Ah, people are going to scoff at me when I tell them I'm a writer." It's like telling them you want to be a pop-star. They give you that patronizing look that says "Sure you are."

But I love writing. And there are lots of opportunities for writers, which is nice. Not just writing novels, but blogging and articles and all sorts of fun stuff.

So I ignored the patronizing looks from strangers I barely knew and stuck to it. I say I am a writer. Because I am. Sometimes I get very specific and say that I just had an article run in KSL or that I blog at Get to the Gist or that I am working on a manuscript or something else direct and to the point.

And I love saying that. I am a writer!

And then, talking to someone at the media company I write with about one of my articles, she called me a writer. She then also made a reference to their writers as a general group.

And then later, someone else from a news outlet refered to me as an expert in my field (the field of writing and interviewing people about addiction and the anti-pornography movement).

I cheered inside! Someone legit called me a writer! I'm official!

But it was official before, wasn't it?

Even if no one else recognizes your dream, it doesn't mean you aren't legit.

Life is like that too. Most people go unrecognized for the awesome things they do. It doesn't make what they do any less real.

Two Weeks while my kid is with my ex

I find myself in a very different situation for the next couple of weeks.

My ex has my kid.

So, I am taking this time to work on projects and get things done.  On my list is:

Writing,
Watching the last season of falling skies,
Writing,
Working in the garden,
Writing,
Organizing my closet,
Writing,

And oh yeah: Writing!

Seriously, yesterday I wrote somewhere around 3,000 words in the course of 3 or 4 hours.

And I also worked on an article.

Holy word count, Batman!

I am not searching for things to do, I am going to have a pretty busy two weeks. But I wanted to know:

1) If you are in this same type of position, is there something specific you always plan to do when your kid is with the ex?

and

2) Anyone have a reccomendation for a really good mud mask? I figured this is the perfect time.