At AWP a few weeks ago, I attended a panel discussion on writing and motherhood. During this talk, four women plus the moderator talked about their experiences as writers and mothers and how those worlds intersected (on good days) and collided (on bad). It was an interesting panel, and overall I felt inspired when I left it, but I was uncomfortably reminded of one thing that it behooves you to have if you want to be a writer: money.

You may want to say, “DUH, it is always better to have money,” so let me just state that I know that. Obviously. Yes, it is always preferable to have some money rather than be faced with an empty checking account when you still haven’t paid your electric bill. But there is a heavy, painful truth to needing money if you’re going to take the time away from a more traditional job to create, as evidenced by things like Amanda Palmer’s TED talk about how artists should give away their art for free and this lovely bit of satire from The Onion about doing what you love but only in your free time. If you don’t have money, it is a Herculean effort to get anything significant done. As someone who has been trying to figure out for years how to get in some extra writing time when I can’t afford to hire childcare unless I spend my “spare” time working, I know this firsthand. It’s quite the conundrum, and oddly, it’s one the otherwise great panel at AWP didn’t address at all. Each of those women said they had childcare of one sort or another, whether it was your standard day care or the more unusual – and arguably more fun – drag queen who happened to live in the same building and love babysitting. For some people, neither thing is a real option, and yet, they don’t want to give up trying. (Maybe this is the problem, maybe we should all just give up.) Continue reading »