This month’s 5 Questions is with Autumn Lindsey, the founder of Writer Moms Inc., an excellent resource for any mom who is also a writer, no matter what genre you write or what stage you are at in your writing. There is a website, Facebook group, Twitter account, a weekly Twitter chat (#WM_chat) and now Writer Mom U, offering affordable writing classes. 

And Autumn recently announced that her debut novel Remaining Aileen will be published by Magnolia Press in 2019!  

5 Questions…with Autumn Lindsey

1. Why did you decide to start the Writer Mom group? 

I started Writer Moms Inc. because at the time (this was back in 2016) I wanted to find a group I could join that supported writer moms in both their writer and mom lives and my search came up short. So, at the suggestion of a few other writer moms also looking for such a community I decided to start my own! We are now an online community, mainly on Facebook, but also Twitter and Instagram (@writermomsinc) of over 600 writer moms all in different places in our writing and mom-ing journeys.

2. What do you think is the hardest part about juggling motherhood and writing?

I know this will be so different depending on each mom, but for myself there are a couple of things that make it hard for me.

One being the time- There is no “finding” time in my average writer mom day, I have to just “take” time and I need to be purposeful about that if I’m to get anything useful done. I often waste a lot of this time to be honest and I’m getting better about using my time better especially if I ever want to actually see my book on shelves one day.

Second is giving myself the validation that I am actually a writer. This mindset also helps with being able to let myself make my writing a priority versus only viewing it as a side hobby.

3. What is something you’ve learned that you wish you had known when you first started writing?

This is a very hard question to answer, partly because I still feel “new” to this writing game but I probably would have liked to have gotten to know some writing friends sooner. I think it would have helped to have had a circle of others to ask questions to, get feedback from, in those earlier writing days.

4. What is your greatest accomplishment so far as a writer? 

My absolute, greatest accomplishment that I think will always and forever consider my greatest accomplishment as a writer was completing that first novel. Thinking back to when I type my very first “the end” brings back all sorts of wonderful feels!

5. What are some good books you’ve recently read (any genre) that you would recommend to others?

I’m currently addicted to the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I’m in the middle of the second book in the series and it’s so good. If you like witches and vampires AND history, you will love this series. But my all time favorite/most impactful book I read this past year was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It was so imaginative and made me dream of black and white circus tents filled with magic and wonder and all sorts of wonderful curiosities. I now want to try and write a book within the tone of that book.

Thank you to Autumn for participating in 5 Questions! You can find her online at: Twitter: @heylindseys       Instagram: @heylindseys    Website: www.autumnlindsey.com