Welcome back to Austen Promises and the Writer’s Journal!
This is one of those posts that has links in it to items at Amazon. They are affiliate links. They cost nothing for you to click on them, but I might get a small payment from them.
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I was speaking to my sister-in-law recently, and she asked me if I’m always working. The question took me aback a bit, because it was kind of unexpected. The answer was, “Yes, I’m always working.” And it’s true … I’m always doing something work-related. Frankly, even some of my hobbies are now intertwined with work.
That’s not to say that I’m writing all the time. I’m not. To this point, I don’t feel that I have written enough. I know that I could be far more successful if I wrote more.
There are many aspects to being a full-time writer. I have to do research, and pay bills, and make covers, and build relationships with readers, and all manner of other things.
All that said, I have tried over the last year, to make more time for me. I’m writing this on a Sunday, and I do try not to work on Sundays. However, life sometimes gets in the way of free-time plans, so here I am. 🙂 
For a year or so, I worked during the races on Sunday afternoons. I do still, now and then, but this season, I have tried to pay better attention to the races, so I am firm in my opinions when the fan council survey comes. I don’t know that I can really count racing as a hobby, but maybe watching races counts. 🙂
The first of the two sweaters I’ve made.
I have taken up my crochet hook again. For years, I have not done much with it. I have just been too busy. But, I need something that I know relaxes me to help me recharge. I’ve noticed that the fonts in many of the patterns are now too small for me to easily read, and working with thread is, as well. I have turned to making dishcloths with a Tunisian crochet hook. A Tunisian crochet hook has the standard crochet hook on one end but is long and has a metal or plastic button piece on the end like a knitting needle does. I have also used a regular hook to make two sweaters with a super easy and quick-to-make-up pattern someone on Facebook shared. I plan to make three more of these sweaters, but only one will be in purple. 🙂
I read a lot, but not all the time. When I am deep in a story, I can’t read. I’m not sure why. Right now, I’m about halfway through Linda Wells’ Imperative, Volume 2. This is like the 50th time I’ve read it, but it’s one of my favorite JAFF books, so … 😉 Clearly, since I’m into this book, I’m not deep into my own story, but I’d imagine that once I’m done, I’ll jump right into my new story and stop reading for a while.
If you are familiar with my writing, you can see how two out of the three hobbies I have are intertwined with work. Watching races is often research for me. I’m currently paying close attention to pit stops, and when I went to the Kentucky race last year, I did the same with the pre-race inspection process. I need to go to at least one more race for this, though, and I intend to make it a race where it’s not so hot you can’t breathe. 🙂 
Reading is considered research, or can be, because I need to keep up with what others in my genre are writing or have written. Honestly, I can’t handle most of the new JAFF, so I end up revisiting older stories. Still, I gain a lot of inspiration from them. 🙂
Do you have hobbies that help you recharge? If so, what are they?
Come back next Wednesday for another peek into my journal! <3
