A Writing update from New Mexico

Reflections on the final stretch of this journey (and puppies)

Where I wrote today—in my aunt’s ‘back yard’…….

Once upon a time, I wrote mostly at night. I was teaching and prepping lectures and overseeing graduate students and navigating committees and parenting littles and becoming an administrator and even leading academic conferences. Weekends were a blur of church and family (mostly church) events, and evenings were when my husband and I tried to snatch some time together. So I wrote at night, usually staying up till 1 or 2 a couple of nights a week with the help of coffee. I wrote The Making of Biblical Womanhood while a full time dean during the crisis of covid. I don’t think I slept much for months, writing mostly between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. I would catch a nap at lunch, or sometimes go to bed for a few hours before getting up to write at 3 a.m.

None of these are good writing habits. Please don’t mimimic them. I’m just telling the truth. Honestly, it is a miracle I am as healthy as I am, much less that I managed to write two bestsellers……..

Chimney Rock at Ghost Ranch where I hung out with my sister, daughter, and niece yesterday.

My priorities were better as I wrote Becoming the Pastor’s Wife. I said no to a lot of things that I am sure irritated folk who were used to me always saying yes. I stopped killing myself to endorse books (I’m so sorry, y’all, I just have to sleep). If I got them read, I considered endorsing. If I didn’t, I didn’t. Probably one of the reasons I hate asking for endorsements is because I know how big the ask is.

My life was transitioning in several areas while I was writing Becoming, which complicated writing rhythms for me. I was readjusting to faculty life. I was a full time associate dean until 2022, when I got the opportunity to return to the History department. The reality was I couldn’t keep up with full time writing and doing my job as a dean, and I lucked out returning to my department in an endowed chair. I will never stop being grateful.

Flowers in my aunt’s garden

But it still was a hard transition. There is no clear playbook on how to move from full time administration back to an academic department. The logistics of it were confusing and, sometimes, discouraging. Readjusting to faculty life was trickier than I realized it would be, and it took a while to find my sea legs. So I slipped back into some bad habits. I pulled several all-nighters, especially toward the end. I sacrificed exercise and sleep for writing time. I was stressed and irritable and exhausted. And, in the middle of it all, we bought a house, renovated it, and moved off campus.

Our Tuesday afternoon hike.

Not to mention Becoming was a harder book to write then Making. I lived the plot of Making and had taught the history in it for several years. I didn’t know the plot of Becoming—I followed the evidence in archives and pieced the argument together over more than 18 months of hard research. And I stressed over the evidence I found. I won’t give spoilers for those who haven’t read or listened to All the Buried Women, but the story I tell in chapter 8 (episode 5 of All the Buried Women) broke me.

Now, as I am starting my third public scholarship book for Brazos Press, I feel more relaxed than with the first two books. I feel more confident. I know these sources; I know these women; I know the medieval world. I’ve already finished most of my archival research (only a couple of trips left). I also know how to do this, in the sense of I understand what both an abnormal book launch (The Making of Biblical Womanhood) and a more normal book launch (Becoming the Pastor’s Wife) feel like.

I’ve figured out my best writing habits. I can manage about 800-1000 words with a block of 3-4 hours, and I write best in the morning (between 7 and 11) or evening (between 7 and 11, too). Sometimes I can write more, and when the muse sings, I’m just going to keep writing—except when it is time to sleep. I turn 50 this year, and I am going to prioritize sleeping and exercise. I should have done it a long time ago (my sisters have been telling me for years). I still have six months left of sabbatical and, given the rate I wrote this week, I am hopeful to have a working draft long before my deadline.

Their house is great for bird watching. I’m not a bird watcher so I don’t know what kind of bird this is. It is pretty, though.

I am excited to be writing something different, too. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of my previous books. I am so proud of Becoming the Pastor’s Wife (personally, I think it is my best book) and I am so amazed by The Making of Biblical Womanhood (the way it connects with people is just miraculous). Making and Becoming are distinct books that make separate arguments drawing from different evidence, but they also go together. They are the yin and yang of my fight against complementarian theology.

This final book is…….. different. As I just wrote in the introduction, I am no longer playing by the rules of those who deny God’s calling on women. As a medievalist, I have home court advantage. As an almost 50-year-old woman, I don’t care anymore (IYKYK). Today, sitting on the swing in the opening picture, I finished the introduction and started the first chapter. Shortly before dinner (grilled pork tenderloin, focaccia bread, mashed potatoes, and grilled zucchini all made by my aunt and uncle who are fantastic cooks), I reread my last three days of writing and still love it. If I feel this way tomorrow, when I reread again, then I am golden (at least until I send it to my editor).

It’s getting real, y’all. In 2019 The Making of Biblical Womanhood launched me on a journey I could never have imagined. Now I am in the final stretch. Wish me luck! Or, rather, wish me good writing!

My desktop folder for my new book. The title is still working and may change, so I’m not sharing it yet. But the book is started, and it has started well.

My aunt fosters dogs and she had these puppies all week.