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by Lucy Pavia-Kraemer, Mount Forest, Ontario

Source: The Avonlea Traditions Chronicle, No. 28, Summer 1999.

Over the centuries, women who pursued writing careers also had the awesome task of juggling their roles and responsibilities at home, in the church, and community in order to find time to put pen to paper. L. M. Montgomery was no exception.

The beloved PEI native was undoubtedly a busy woman, who performed somewhat of a balancing act. In The Wheel of Things, biographer Mollie Gillen gives readers a glimpse into L. M. Montgomery's commitments. Gillen states that L. M. Montgomery "took her proper part in every aspect of church life: the pastoral visiting, the quilting parties and pie socials, the women's missionary meetings, and the Young People's Guild." Strenuous household work, literary duties that included speaking engagements and family interests also filled her busy days. In light of her hectic lifestyle, how did L. M. Montgomery manage to locate time in her day to write? She made writing a priority.

In L. M. Montgomery's autobiography, The Alpine Path, she confessed that "to write has always been my central purpose which every effort and hope and ambition of my life has grouped itself." Her intense passion to write, therefore, made it essential for her to carve out the time necessary to express herself creatively.

A Set Schedule

While living at the Manse in Leaskdale, L. M. Montgomery wrote every morning for two hours. She would devote the rest of the day to her boys and to her committees.

A Place of Her Own

While the study at the Manse was being used by her husband, Reverend Ewan Macdonald for his church work, L. M. Montgomery would do her writing at the dining room table.

Obtained Hired Help

L. M. Montgomery mentioned in her journals that she had maids who assisted her with looking after her children and the household chores, freeing her up to write in the morning.

Brief Notes on a Daily Basis

L. M. Montgomery would enter notes and ideas in her journal. This information would serve her later in writing her stories.

In a journal entry dated November 29, 1915, L. M. Montgomery acknowledged there were times when she wondered whether or not she actually had the strength to do all that was required of her. The many tasks and duties which she was called upon to fulfill "...all seem to pile up before me," she admitted, "and every night I feel so tired that I can hardly drag myself upstairs." L. M. Montgomery wrote too that it was in fact difficult, in the midst of her many and diverse roles and duties, to create the time to write. "But it must be managed," she stressed, "...I cannot afford to give it up, even for a time."

As challenging as it was for her, L. M. Montgomery is a model for women today who juggle a wide array of diverse roles. In setting aside the time to fulfill her calling despite obstacles along her path, L. M. Montgomery has also succeeded in enriching and blessing the lives of her readers, from one generation to the next.

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