Writers, Sometimes We Just Need to Admit We Can’t Do It All

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

I started off the New Year by canceling a speaking engagement for a local writers group three days before it was scheduled to occur.

Not exactly what I had planned to do.

But I also hadn’t expected one of my daughters to end up in the hospital.

Or that my husband and I would be caring for our two young granddaughters. 

That there would be several sleepless nights. 

That instead of quickly recovering from a surgical procedure, my daughter would encounter setbacks.

During all of this unexpectedness, I continued to finalize my workshop. Perfecting the PowerPoint slides. Gathering items for attendees. 

The show was going to go on – pardon the cliché.

But then reality set in. Any sense of margin had disappeared. My family needed me – and to be there for them, I needed to conserve time. Energy. Emotions. 

The demands of my real life eclipsed my writing life. I had to back out of my speaking commitment so I could be 100% available for my family.

Canceling my workshop was the right, hard thing to do.

And I cried through the phone call where I explained all of this to the group’s leader. To be honest, I cried a lot during that week. Tears can often express our emotions better than words.

Sometimes there’s no putting a “happy face” on things because, well, we’re not happy about what we’re facing. And admitting that doesn’t mean that every breath we’re breathing isn’t a prayer. Or that we’re not leaning into grace.

As creatives, we’re all familiar with the virtual pendulum that swings back and forth in stories – both novels and movies. Things go from bad to good and then – swing – things go bad again and then – swing – things go good again and then – swing – things go even badder. 

Sometimes our lives are like that. 

Good. Swing. Bad. Swing. Good. Swing. Bad. Swing. Good. Swing. Badder.

It’s okay to be honest and admit we’re overwhelmed – even to the point that we can’t write. That we can’t do it all because an unexpected crisis has taken all our time, energy, and yes, that this everything-falling-apart-ongoing-moment might be stretching our faith a bit.

Stretched faith is still genuine faith, my friends. 

And life will, at some point, settle out, and we’ll have the time, energy, and emotion to write again.

Until then, sometimes the best we can do is clear our calendar, do what needs to be done, ignore guilt, and always remember that there’s grace in every situation. 

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Award-winning author Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, Beth's first women's fiction novel with Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, released May 2018. Moments We Forget, book two in the Thatcher Sisters Series, releases May 2019. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.