Summer has landed with a vengeance. Many places with normally sensible temperatures have been experiencing our triple digits. Kids are home from school. Vacations are planned and taken. It’s a break in the normal routine of the other nine months and, unfortunately, no lack of deadlines for the writer. 
I thought it would be great if you could chime in and share some of the tips, tricks and hacks you use to keep writing despite travel and bored children. Use the comments to share with the writing community how you stay on track.
Here are a few of things I used to do when I had kids home and writing deadlines:
• Accountability— I have been part of a critique group for more than thirty years. Back in the day, we kept each other accountable in spite of that good ol’ summertime.
• Quiet time— I avoided the frantic schedule some parents kept with kids. Ours had to chose between activities– they couldn’t do it all. Plus we insisted on them spending time doing quiet hobbies for a small part of the day. My eldest daughter now credits this time for her love of music. We bought all the Disney animated music books for her and she loved playing these favorite songs on her flute and later her oboe (the instrument that accounted for her eventual scholarship to Biola). Our youngest daughter wrote and painted. Our son? Well. . . video games, but they loved this time and it allowed me time to write.
• Save your site research for summertime. The family will love to participate in researching sailing ships, marine life, historic settings, museums, and new places. Have them jot down details for you to use. They’ll notice entirely different things than you will.
• Enjoy these days in the midst of writing. They go so fast. I wish I could groan about kids home for three months all over again.
So, how do you work with the changed schedule of summertime when you have books to write? Help us out.
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While summer gives a break from homeschooling and my usual teaching job, I’ve still found the writing balance a challenge some summers since my parents, who often help me with childcare, are out of state during those months. I love your tips, Wendy! I’m grateful my little boy is old enough now to understand at times that Mama needs to work and he needs to play on his own a while, often with the promised reward of a game together afterward. 🙂 Last summer the mom of my son’s best friend graciously took my son home to her house several times after our shared swim lessons to give me time to write–I’m hoping we can do some childcare swapping again this summer!
Quick answer: deadlines.
I’m a journalist. I don’t write because I compelled to write. I write on assignment. So, during summer, as during the rest of the year, I am writing to meet a publisher’s deadline for a book or to meet my own deadline for the creation of a proposal.
When I’m not working on either, I’m typically doing all the other stuff we writers do: prepping for speaking at a conferences or retreats, redoing my website, writing articles and blogs, coaching, teaching online courses, and on and on.