The Write Time

Writing time. It isn’t easy to come by for me. It never has been.

I don’t think I’m atypical when it comes to writers trying to find/make writing time. Oh, I treat my writing as work. I know it’s a business, and though I’m passionate about writing, I understand if I’m going to succeed in my chosen profession I can’t wait to be in the mood or for anything in particular. I have to sit down and pound out the story.

But it’s still hard to find enough time. Like most authors, I have many interests. I won’t call them distractions because they are a part of life and I enjoy them. I like spending time with my family. A lot. I enjoy spending time in solitude, in nature, just to keep myself grounded and peaceful. I also enjoy spending time alone with  my husband. We do fun things together and with our kids. I purposely make sure I spend time with my cat, Willow. She’s a member of the family, not a couch pillow. And somewhere in there, time needs to be spent cleaning and cooking, and on and on it goes.

Oh, I almost forgot but how could I? Social media and promotions for my books have become big time grabbers, but that’s just the way of a writer’s life.

During the past few years, I’ve dealt with sickness in myself and in loved ones. I’ve lost loved ones. I’ve gone through overwhelming changes to my life. Today I’m very happy with where I’m at and with what I’m doing. I’ve simplified my life a degree or two. Still, sometimes I feel like hanging a virtual sign on my life that reads, “Don’t bother the writer. She might break down.”

I’m still seeking balance. I want it all. Writing, family, leisure, fun, and a clean house (though that part of my life dropped to the bottom of list many writing years ago). I don’t want to feel annoyed and stressed all the time. I love writing and still want peace and balance.

To solve this dilemma I have sought out solutions, genuine ways to not just survive but also thrive. Writing is very much a part of thriving and I’m so grateful to have found my passion and have seen my writing published. I’ve picked up a few tips that have helped. Here’s a typical list:

1.      Complete most important tasks first.

2.      Learn to say no.

3.      Get an early start.

4.      Don’t allow unimportant details to drag you down.

5.      Turn key tasks into habits.

6.      Commit to your goals.

This a summation of a list found at The Creativity Post.

Honestly, I believe how a writer invests in his or her writing and what strategy is used to keep balanced is an individual thing. Fundamental tactics are useful in guiding us. But from what I’ve found in seeking writing time and feeling good about my life, the methods and choices are as varied as the writers. According to Internet publication  Van Winkles' in an article written by Sharon Stodala, author of Process, the Writing Lives of Great Authors, Toni Morrison begins writing early in the morning before her family gets out of bed. Earnest Hemingway also began early. Pulitzer Prize winner Edith Wharton wrote in bed. F. Scott Fitzgerald, on the other hand, slept until around eleven in the morning and tried to accomplish some writing in the afternoon. Frank Kafka took a four-hour afternoon nap after arriving home from his day job, then began writing in the evening. George Orwell wrote at night, but he was known to write at other times during a day, too.

“Vladimir Nabokov, too, could write seemingly anywhere and anytime, perhaps owing to the many emigrations he made throughout his life. If we could all be so lucky,” Stodola wrote in the article.

I’m still working out how I’m going to balance my life now. But however I decide, I’m going to make my process mine and own it, because there are no sure-fire strategies that fit us all.


 
 

Use the "F" Word to Accomplish Your Goals

The economy is tanking, the economy is growing; the world is struggling with climate change or it’s not. And on top of everything, the zombies are out there just waiting to make us their dinner. It’s enough to keep us all in a constant state of turmoil.

Of course, the economy will do it what it does, the world most likely will go on, and zombies aren’t real. But according to experts on the History Channel, the popularity of zombie stories and various other world-changing storylines is connected to our fundamental fears of having no actual control over our lives and the very real threats of terrorists, disease, environmental catastrophes, and more. So what’s a writer to do when unreal distractions make us run in various – real and emotional – directions? As suggested by Hope Clark, founder of Funds for Writers Funds for Writers, we can turn to the “F” word. We can “focus.”

I’m writing this tongue-in-cheek, of course. Clearly we’re not all boarding up our windows to keep out zombies or storing up supplies in hopes of surviving a world catastrophe. These extreme activities are not robbing our time, but we do have daily living to manage on top of our efforts to further our writing goals. Life can become a gerbil’s wheel of endless business. It’s easy to latch onto the latest advice; the latest tips that suggest how we can best take our writing ability and aspirations and turn them into a viable writing career, despite all the obstacles and distractions. Write a blog and use Facebook and Twitter to build a Web presence. Diversify with short stories or commercial nonfiction. There are varying approaches touted with equal earnest. Trouble is, if you’re working a day job, managing a family life and trying to get your writing career off the ground, the wealth of advice can be just one more distraction pulling you in different directions and diluting your productivity. So focus.

Clark puts it pretty succinctly in her newsletter.

“Pick one project that will represent you well … . Then center your world around it. Let's say . . . write a novel. When you're enticed to enter a contest, don't do it, unless it's for a novel. When you see a retreat, don't go, unless you go to write the novel. When you attend a conference, only go to further your novel. When you see a Chicken Soup that catches your fancy, only do it if you've already worked on your novel for the day. Nothing gets done unless it's affiliated with the novel,” she wrote.

It’s simple advice. Something to keep our attention and bring it back to creating what we want, whatever that may be. Focus, to concentrate your efforts. Focus, to use your limited time and energy to accomplish what best meets your needs.

This article is excerpted from Romancing the Prairie, the quarterly newsletter of the Prairie Hearts chapter of RWA.

Time Drought

Parts of Central Illinois have been officially declared an area of natural disaster as we are in a state of severe draught. Rainfall is scarce. Crops are stressed. Garden plants are wilting. The meteorologist says atmospheric conditions exist that will continue to sustain the drought conditions.

My husband has taken matters of water into his own hands. We don’t have acres of crops to maintain, we have tomato and bean plants and flowers. Rather than run water to the vegetable garden or to the flower garden, Mike began collecting water that comes out of the central air conditioner while its in use. Its usual route would be to empty from a hose in to the sump pump pit in the basement. Mike has rerouted the hose and is taking advantage of the clean water as a source for watering plants. It means he has to carry out pails of water from the basement to the gardens but he’s up for the task because, hey, it’s clean, free water and the plants need it. It’s worth the effort, because we have flowers, not simply wilted plants, and tomatoes are maturing on the vines and beans already have been picked.

I easily can be in my own personal draught, not of a lack of water but of time. I feel the load of so many things to do weighing down on my shoulders so heavily that I can barely move from one task to another. All the various things need to get done and I’m glad I have things to do, like earn a living and spend time with family. Even cleaning the house and cooking a meal is proof that I am blessed. But, having a sense of peace, in general, and the time to write are important to me, too. There is only so much time in a day, a week, a month, a year, so how to manage is the big question.

Where is the Time?
People are quick to suggest sticking to a schedule and making priorities would remedy my time-drought. These are good suggestions, but I feel like laughing, sometimes, at these ideas. There simply isn’t enough time and when everything feels demanding, it’s hard to prioritize—something else to do.

So here’s a thought. Just as my husband has adapted to the weather conditions and is utilizing resources that are available but require a little extra effort, I think we writers can be open to doing things differently. If conditions exist in our lives to sustain a drought of writing time, then it calls for looking for time in places where we can reclaim it, even if it takes effort and awareness.

An article in Entrepreneur, 10 Time Management Tips that Work, suggests there are two kinds of time: clock time and real time. Clock time is counted in seconds, minutes, hours, months, years. It never changes. But real time is different.

"The good news is that real time is mental. It exists between your ears. You create it. Anything you create, you can manage. It's time to remove any self-sabotage or self-limitation you have around "not having enough time."

The point is, time is not going to change, but how you use it can—it’s up to you. You know that. You just have to grab the buckets and get started doing things that sustain your life, including your writing life.

There is Time for You
Life Coach Mary Guarino, Ph.D, suggests Spark People that we shift our focus to put what makes us happy at the top of the to-do list because then we’ll have more energy for the whole of our life.

“Set aside a certain amount of time each day just to do what you want to do. How about 1 hour each day? If that’s not “possible,” start with smaller increments of time, say 15 minutes, and work your way up. …And, most importantly, set aside time each week to do something special. Make sure that, no matter how busy you are, you take time to play. Spending time with friends, outdoors, at the movies, whatever makes you happy, is essential in helping you be the most focused and effective you can be with your time.”

Guarino lists things to follow, ways of filling our buckets with time and energy to devote to our writing, such as, learn to say no, delegate, try to eliminate time and energy drainers. I imagine if you record how you spend time in a day or week, as suggested in the same Entrepreneur magazine article, you’ll find free time, but you spent it in ways that maybe don’t support your writing life. Maybe those of us who find it challenging to find time to write can address that and make a choice to do differently, just once, then twice, then again until we've made a different pattern, one that is helpful to our writing goals.

I have not mastered this time-management thing; I’m feeling the drought of time. But I want to do things differently. I want to fill my buckets and enjoy the results, even though conditions exist that would pull away my time.

Image from Dreamstime