How Parenting Changed My Writing — One Mom’s Writing Tips
for Parents
By Barbara Clabots

When I became a mom in 2020, I was both fulfilling a dream and walking face-first into a dilemma. I was worried … would becoming a parent ruin my writing career?

Four years into parenting, I can confidently say that becoming a mom has not only changed my writing career, it’s made me a better writer. And becoming a parent has led me to even greater moneymaking opportunities as a writer … but more on that in a moment.

Here are five major improvements I noticed in my writing career since becoming a parent, along with some tips you may want to try. Let’s take a look at how you can take advantage of these benefits too …

1. Become Radically Efficient

The key here, of course, is to use all available time effectively, no matter how large or small the chunk of time is. For example, we all know a deadline is great to get us hustling but have you tried beating the nap time crunch? When the kids’ nap time ends in 45 minutes, you learn to both write and edit efficiently in that precious, peaceful time block.

If you like to talk through your ideas, I recommend voice memos. It’s like those old writing challenges where you have to keep the pen moving on the paper, but it’s easier when you talk because you can repeat and clarify your own thoughts without backtracking. I can spit out a few minutes of talking through an idea even while I’m walking the dog. (Don’t worry about the neighbors, they’ll think you’re on a phone call.)

Pro tip — play that voice memo back at 1.5X speed while you type out the main ideas and bingo, you’ve written something coherent.

If I can’t edit the piece right away, I use the notes app on my phone. When I have a new idea about how to phrase something, the notes app is where it gets stored. Just remember to title those notes descriptively so you can find them later.

If I need some brain space to edit, I’ll stack a mental task with a physical task. For this article, I read through my draft right before doing the dishes. Then while I did the dishes, I thought about edits I might want to make.

2. Ride the Waves of Change

After I had a baby, I suffered severe sleep deprivation and brain fog. It felt like my creativity had completely vanished. For two years, when I thought about writing, I got wrapped up in grief about losing my capacity to think clearly. Looking back, those strong emotions could have been fodder for some great pieces, but I didn’t have the courage to try.

Now I’ve found new purpose in my writing. My constraints, my values, my dreams have all shifted. I’ve found motivations I didn’t have before and now I can speak to them authentically.

3. Take More Risks

Along with following my new dreams, I’ve been taking more risks.

Getting clear on my values is how I ended up writing an op-ed that was so hot that over 100,000 people read it!

I had gotten fired up about something and published the best-performing piece I’d ever written. It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever written, it all just flowed out of me, but I was really nervous about publishing it because I knew some people would get angry.

But the feedback I got was astounding — the piece really lit a match under a lot of folks. I’m learning how to use writing to impact the world, and that means leaning into the discomfort of taking more risks.

4. Learn about Learning

Parenting, for me, is a daily study in how humans learn.

The drive for my child to learn how to pour milk into a glass seems innate, but how he responds to that drive over time is shaped by his environment. If I stood over his shoulder and criticized him for every drop that spilled, he would lose his interest or confidence in trying.

But this is exactly what I, and I bet most writers, do to ourselves. I believe what I’m writing won’t be “good enough” and sometimes it keeps me from even trying. If I were to apply parenting techniques to myself, I bet I’d use a kinder internal voice.

Spilled milk isn’t a failure. He still learned, and with more repetitions, less milk will spill. The same goes for me. Allowing myself to write less “perfectly” is still writing, and repeated practice will make my writing stronger.

5. Dive into AWAI Programs

When I saw how many AWAI members were parents, I knew the courses would be a good fit for people with a family like me.

AWAI rekindled my writing spark with the 4 Days to $400 Writing Challenge!

I really like how AWAI’s pre-recorded courses can be watched at 1.5X speed while I’m folding laundry. Or I can download the audio and look at the slides later; this is great for when I’m driving.

I’m so excited to write again that I’ve already signed up for How to Create a Course to Grow Your Business and Your Income. This opportunity to make money writing as a parent is exactly what I’ve been looking for.

You know why I’m excited about creating digital courses? Because the good ones are life-changing! Like the baby sleep training course I would easily pay $300 for again. I had read five books on sleep training and I still couldn’t figure it out. The course got me results — sleep! — within days.

Parents need effective solutions without having to read a stack of books, and I’ve got some course ideas already. I hope if you have great solutions to parenting problems that you get out there and create some courses to help the rest of us.

I’ve learned a lot about parenting and writing over the last few years, but I know it’s just the beginning. I hope learning about my experience encourages you. Parenting just might be the key to unlock great writing (and business opportunities) for you, too.