17. Shaping a life around writing w/ Nancy McCabe

The process of writing can be joyful, freeing, and nourishing to the soul. But when you become a parent, everything changes. The love for writing does not waiver, but the time to dedicate to your writing does. Joining today’s conversation is Nancy McCabe, a single mom and accomplished professor who has published several books. She grew up loving stories but didn"t think she could make a career out of writing. With an intrinsic desire to write, Nancy had to intentionally carve out time to write her numerous books. She found fun ways to integrate her love of writing into motherhood, thus enabling Nancy to find a balance that worked and inspired her writing. Erin speaks to Nancy about her writing projects, the writing process, and important female authors. They also discuss how many films and television shows miss the mark on capturing the spirit of a novel’s story, and they touch on the lack of diversity in classic children’s books. Topics discussed in this episode:Learning to love teachingShaping a life around writingDeciding to be a single parent through adoptionFolding our kids into our writing livesRereading children’s books from an adult perspectiveNancy’s book, Little Houses to Little Women: Revisiting a Literary ChildhoodFemale authors and characters who love to writeJoe’s new ending in the Little Women filmEmbracing the messy first draft as part of the writing processErin details her current WIP fantasy bookAdvice on revision techniques and feedbackMissing the mark from book to screen  About Nancy:  Nancy McCabe, an author and a Pushcart winner, directs the creative and professional writing program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and teaches in the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University.  She became a single parent by choice when she adopted her daughter from China in 1999, writing two memoirs about China adoption and homeland travel while her daughter was growing up and dragging her along on research trips and book tours. Get her books:Can This Marriage Be Saved? A MemoirFollowing Disasters: A NovelFrom Little Houses to Little Women: Revisiting a Literary ChildhoodCrossing the Blue Willow Bridge: A Journey to My Daughter’s Birthplace in ChinaMeeting Sophie: A Memoir of AdoptionAfter the Flashlight Man: A Memoir of AwakeningVaulting through Time (forthcoming)AMAZON PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-McCabe/e/B001K8OBBA  Connect with Nancy: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.mccabe.92 Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancygmccabe Website: https://www.nancymccabe.net/  Books discussed during the show:Betsy Tacy series by Maud Hart LovelaceAnne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud MontgomeryRilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud MontgomeryLittle Women by Louisa May AlcottLittle House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls WilderThe Time Traveler"s Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerWhen You Reach Me by Rebecca SteadKindred by Octavia E. ButlerCoretta Scott King Book Award Winners ListRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. TaylorAuthor and Poet Gloria Whelan Ready to stop circling around your manuscript? As an experienced professional editor, I can help you finish your book with confidence and direction. Learn more by visiting ParentsWhoWrite.com/editing, and book a free 30-minute call with me to discuss what’s right for you.