If you’ve been hanging around Go Teen Writers for very long, you’ve possibly noticed that summers look different around here. Our Instagram feed is pretty sparse, there’s no fresh content on Wednesdays, and we stop sending out weekly emails. (Unless you’re doing the 100-for-100. Then you hear from me every Monday all summer long. You can learn more details about the writing challenge here.)

Do you know why we take these next couple months off? Because it’s hard for us to write posts in the summer.

That’s it. That’s the whole reason. During the school year, we’re able to make space in our schedules for fiction writing as well as Go Teen Writers, but the summer schedule isn’t like the school year schedule.

For years, we fought this reality. We tried several different ways to make fresh blog posts happen for Go Teen Writers, and it was always a grind. By the time Summer 2021 was approaching, the three of us had survived an exhaustingly bizarre school year with all our kids. (This was extra true for Jill, who became a full-time teacher in the 2020-2021 school year.) All the fears that had driven us to push through the challenges of posting during the summers—if we don’t post, everyone will leave! Our site that we’ve worked so hard on all these years will become a ghost town!—were no longer bigger than our exhaustion. We decided to take June and July off and prayed a few hardy souls would still be here when we got back. (And some of you were! Thank you!)

The experience reminded me that seasons are a real thing. Trying to fight the seasons in our lives is as futile a battle as trying to fight the seasons of nature. I spend a lot of July and August longing for the weather of October . . . but I can’t DO anything to make the weather change. I have to live in whatever season it is. The season is going to happen whether or not I’m on board. The only choice I have in the matter is if I’m going to whine/complain/deny/wish it away or embrace where I am.

We have seasons in our writing lives too. A season of being an unpublished writer. A season of preparing for a book release. A season of creative rest. A season of writing a specific book. We also have life seasons that impact our writing. They can be longer seasons, like being in high school, or college, or having an illness. They can be shorter seasons like participating in a musical production or moving across the country.

Should you expect the same writing results from yourself if your current seasons include “taking a full load of college classes and working a part time job” versus “summer break and working 10 hours a week”? Of course not. When it’s written out like that, it’s very obvious that you’ll have more time for writing during your summer break than during your school year. Yet so often we get frustrated with ourselves for not being able to write more, even though our season of life has changed.

I confess I’m100% guilty of this, but I’m getting better. Here’s what helps me:

Start by naming your seasons.

You are living seasons upon seasons, all woven together.

Recognizing the big seasons can be helpful. Being in high school is a season, living at home is a season. Being a new writer is a season. Right now, I’m in a long season of having a teenager living in our house. (I love it!) That season will pass, but not for a long time, because she has younger brothers. My writing life looks very different right now when my kids are 14, 11, and 6 than it did when they were 8, 5, and a newborn. It’s a different season.

Paying attention to and listing out the shorter seasons nestled within your big seasons is also valuable. Maybe like me, your season is “summer break.” Or maybe it’s unique like, “first summer with a job” or “last summer before college” or “the summer that we’re moving.” Maybe it’s 100-for-100 season for you or “trying to write science fiction for the first time” season.

As you can see, the possibilities for seasons are endless.

What do you know about this season?

There will always be unknowns. Like, I thought the fall of 2017 was going to be the season of “Getting Within These Lines edited and turned in.” And that did happen, but the dominant season became, “My dad is dying of cancer.” (My dad did NOT die of cancer, as it turns out. We just celebrated his 67th birthday over the weekend!) I had no way of anticipating how abruptly and intensely my season of life would change, and that’s just how life rolls. We can’t do much to prepare for that.

But you have knowns that mark your season, and it’s important to notice them. My kids are now out of school and here are a few things I know about this season called Summer Break.

• The kids will be with my parents two days a week. Those are days that I can get uninterrupted work time.
• I am teaching at One Year Adventure Novel Summer Workshop at the end of June and need to have classes ready.
• My older two are happy to help me get semi-uninterrupted time in my office if I ask them to.
• My current works-in-progress are a 1920s historical mystery and One Hopeful Summer on Kindle Vella.
• My summer break season ends August 11th when my kids return to school.

I’ll spare you my whole list of knowns about my summer season, but my point is that once you have the list, it becomes easier to identify what matter’s most (more on that next) and how you can make plans around your “knowns.”

What matters most?

Take a look at that list of things you know about whatever seasons you’re in. (Or about to be in, if you’re working ahead.) What matters most? The answer can be multiple things . . . but it can’t be everything. In the words of Kendra Adachi, “Lots of things can matter, but only a few things can matter most.”

During my summer break season, I have things about my kids that matter most to me, like spending time with them, giving them opportunities to explore their interests, and traveling together. I also have things about writing that matter most to me during summer break. I know which stories I’m prioritizing right now, and when I have writing time I won’t be flailing around trying to figure out what to write.

There are lots of other things that matter to me this summer—like having a decently clean house, reading time, or gardening—but they don’t matter most.

What story do you want to tell about this season?

If you’re having trouble identifying what matters most to you, this is a trick I like to use: If you and I sat down to have coffee together at the end of this season, what would you hope to be able to tell me about it? What would you want to say about the things you got done? The things you chose not to do? The attitude you had during it all?

I ask myself a version of this question regularly, and I have a love/hate relationship with it, if I’m honest. Because I almost always know the answer I want to give, and that forces me to acknowledge where my actions aren’t aligning with my goals.

At the end of the summer, I want to tell you that I helped my kids get everywhere they needed to be, and that yes, there were rough days, but overall the time in the van was full of connection and fun. I want to tell you that we played games together, that I said yes to spontaneous fun (this is hard for me!), and that I was intentional about helping them grow. I want to tell you that when I worked, I stayed focus on my edits and didn’t let myself get distracted.

What about you? What stories would you want to tell me about this season?

Go forth and live your season!

Now, if you’re like me, this is the tricky part. I’ve made my lists and my plans, and now it’s time to live in the season. I’m a few days into my “summer break” season. Already, I’ve flailed, whined, and panicked that Summer Break doesn’t look like the season I just left, the School Is In Session season. I’ve had memory lapses and forgotten what matters most.

But I’ve also had a few moments of joy and flexibility that have left me with hope that at the end of this season, if I you and I get the chance for that coffee chat, I’ll be able to tell you stories about Summer Break that I’m proud of.

I’d love to hear about what seasons you’re in, and what your hopes and dreams are for the next few months!

(Pretty please come back in August!)

Stephanie Morrill writes books about girls who are on an adventure to discover their unique place in the world. She is the author of several contemporary young adult series, as well as two historical young adult novels, The Lost Girl of Astor Street and Within These Lines. Within These Lines was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, as well as a YALSA 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Since 2010, Stephanie has been encouraging the next generation of writers at her website, GoTeenWriters.com, which has been on the Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers list since 2017. She lives in the Kansas City area, where she loves plotting big and small adventures to enjoy with her husband and three children. You can connect with Stephanie and learn more about her books at StephanieMorrill.com, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.