Writers look up to and learn from other writers.
One of my favorite writers is South Dakota author and poet, Linda M. Hasslestrom. She’s a rancher who writes. So she writes about cows, the prairie and grass.
Another writer I enjoy is Baxter Black. He’s a vet. So he writes about some of his experiences in practice. I was just cruising through the FAQ section of Baxter’s website and found this line:
What would be your advise to someone interested in writing?
Write about what you know.
Hum.
What do I know?
What do I know?
Well, I used to run around our farm chasing after and picking up and delivering my husband and moving vehicles and I still do that some, but not as much. So for a couple years here on this blog I wrote about Farmin’ Fridays, what we did on the farm every week.
And, before that we were remodeling our old farmhouse and so I wrote and posted about the farmhouse. When we finished the farmhouse, I stopped writing about that.
And, when we had babies, I sorta ran out of the opportunity to write as much about farming because I wasn’t in the thick of it day-to-day as much.
So.
Back to the beginning, Linda and Baxter are telling me to write about what I know.
Poop and breastfeeding.
Ya’ll that’s it.
Day in and day out, I’m dealing with poop or/and milk.
The problem with writing about what you know is that there’s a distinct possibility know body is going to give two craps about it. (<—– See what I did there?)
For my own personal interest I counted some of the redundant poop/milk related tasks that I compete each day. I believe it was Monday.
I took sister to pee exactly 8 times in one day. (Only one accident! Woot, woot!)
I also breastfeed brother exactly 5 times in one day.
I also fed sister three meals and brother two solid meals and changed his diaper give or take 8 times, so if we’re really counting I fed myself 3 meals, him 8 and her 3 + snack, that’s 15 meal events and 20+ bathroom related events. And, there’s only two of them!
And, when I put it that way I’m not so surprised after all that I didn’t fold the laundry or peel the carrots between the hours of 7 AM and 8 PM.
BUT, earlier this summer…I did the same silly tracking thing and I was taking her about 12 or 13 times a day.
And, I was feeding him about 8 times a day.
And, back in the spring I was changing 20+ diapers a day, some for each darling behind that resides in this home & breastfeeding him basically round the clock. So this is a downhill-uphill battle of poop. I can see I am making some progress even in just two seasons.
As the baby books say: She is consolidating her pees and he’s merging his feedings. #momlife
I know you really just want to talk about the new shows that are coming out this fall, but I’m over here like: woo-hoo! my kids are peeing less frequently and nursing less frequently.
Write what you know? Are you sure? Okay….
This is your authentic voice–loved this entry.
Laurel
Thank you Laurel!