kittens and other things

This weekend we did a lot of long overdue gardening, which is so much more fun when you have a batch of tiny feral kittens living in your backyard (tabby, calico, black). Seriously, so cute! With fuzzy fur and stumpy little tails. Gardening is way better than I imagined.

In other news, I've been thinking a lot about balance: should I push myself to do more with publicity (specifically: reading and commenting on other blogs, as I've been told this might help the visibility of my blog and I can learn a lot about what's going on in the market/with other authors at the same time) or do I accept the fact that I'm doing all I can and stop stressing and feeling guilty about it?

Also, should writing be my top priority, the most important thing in my life? I can certainly see the benefit of this: if it's at the top of your list, then you can always give yourself permission to write. But I've experienced the flipside: when so much of my sense of self is tied up in my writing and the writing isn't going well, it's extremely painful. (But maybe that has more to do with the ego?) Another balancing act.

At last week's event, the lovely Ellen Wittlinger said that she writes everyday. She's written a whole bunch of books, so I'm wondering if I should take her advice. Maybe a little free-writing? Or writing something perfectly fun and indulgent that I don't think of as a "work in progress"? It could be liberating. We shall see.

I've also heard tales of a summer NaNoWriMo. Thoughts, anyone?