Wordy Girls

I've gone through 2 moves, a separation, and multiple family health issues in the past few years.  And somehow, writing always helps me make it through.  I don't write, necessarily, about whatever traumatic thing is going on.  But having deadlines on work-for-hire projects forces me to clear my mind and concentrate on something else, which is often such a relief.  And working on my own creative projects, especially poetry, allows me to escape into my imagination and live in a happier place for a while.

I recently found out my mom has cancer.  She in her upper 70s, and the prognosis is probably not great.  But last weekend, only a few days after I got the news, there I was, working on a revision of a humorous picture book that my agent had suggested a revision of before submitting it to a particular editor.  And enjoying it.  I smiled at my own stupid puns and cheered on Gerald, my sheep main character.  And then I felt kind of guilty.

Not really guilty.  I mean, I know life goes on and worrying/stewing endlessly does nobody any good.  But still, I felt a bit traitorous having lost myself in my manuscript, however briefly.  I did console myself with the thought that that's the absolute transformative beauty of books: they take you out of yourself and your problems, whether you're reading the book or writing the book.

I know writers fall two ways when hit with crises: write through them or stop writing (for a while).  Which camp are you in?  How do you feel about it?