How many times have you
heard fellow writers say, "I just can't find the time to write"
or how many times have you, yourself, said or thought, "my
writing is suffering, I can't get time to do it?" How
frustrated are you in trying to carve out the time to write what you
want to write?
Unless you're living on a
trust fund and never have to hold down a job and don't have a family
to distract you, you're in the same boat as most writers. Trying to
work writing into a life you already have.
Now I don't want to get
trite or sarcastic, well maybe a little sarcastic, but it's really is
one of those life situations where you either will or you won't -
that simple.
Now don't whine at me,
"you don't understand" because I do. I've held full time
jobs and published novels, I've been just married, taken care of an
ailing mother and held a full time job AND optioned a screenplay -
more than one. So I've been there. I know all the distractions and
excuses.
So, what is the solution?
It's pretty basic. First, do you want to write? I mean do you
REALLY want to write? Is there a story inside burning, bumping and
nagging to get out? Are you desperate to get it out? Do you want to
write so badly you can hardly think of anything else?
Okay, if that's true, then
there are ways to work writing in and admittedly there are some
sacrifices you'll probably have to make to achieve your writing
goals. No, not probably. There ARE sacrifices. If you're not up to
that, then go back to the paragraph above and reevaluate.
There was a period of
several years when I watched no TV at all. Each evening after work
(where lunch hours were dedicated to errands or reading writing
publications) I went straight home, ate dinner, did what had to be
done, then locked myself away for about two or three hours of
writing. Oh, I spent time Saturday morning writing as well. Then I
spent some quality time with friends and relatives on weekends. Now
I'm not saying that schedule was never broken, at times it was, but
it was what I expected of myself and I published my writing over the
years with Doubleday, Harlequin, Five Star, Pinnacle Books and
others.
At other times in my life
my writing was done on lunch hours and breaks... and evenings. I
wrote during entire vacations from my day job, read writing
publications when I minded a cash register at a book store between
customers.
You can find jobs that fit
in with your writing. You can work things out with your family.
Perhaps after you publish and generate some income from your writing
you can change to a part time job which is another thing I did; and
then jealously guard those precious hours for your writing. You'll
discover as you carve out more time for your writing, more people
will think you're not working at all and it's okay to interrupt or
suggest an outing for that time or want to call you and chat or
constantly text you. Do what you must to guard against intrusion
with firmness and diplomacy or you'll find that writing income drying
up and soon you'll be back at square one.
Other writing friends have
told me how they write on buses or trains on the way to work, on
lunch hours tucked away in a corner somewhere, long into the night or
if a stay at home parent, when the kids are at school or watching
Sesame Street. Dinner becomes an adventure in tracking down 15 minute
recipes that are actually good for you and taste good.
Be creative, search your
life for those bits of time when you can put them to good use writing
what you want to get out. One person's way may not be yours, but with
some thought and planning you can carve out some writing time in your
life. It's a matter of priority. There's no right or wrong answer, no
write (right) or wrong way to strive for your goals. If writing isn't a high
priority then give yourself a break, let it go. If it is important
to you, explore your life and realistically find the way to work the
amount of writing time in that is comfortable for you.
As Yoda would say - "Do
or do not, there is no try."
