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.


 
 

Hair Cuts, Family and Deadlines

Writing deadlines and goals demand time. So do chores, family and friends, and haircuts. How do we manage the push and pull of different aspects of our life?

It’s not unusual for my writing plans to get sidelined.  I try to take life’s interruptions in stride, but it happens so regularly that I get upset. I’m always waiting for the nonwriting stuff in my life to settle down, be done, stop interrupting my writing time so I can have a clean slate week of writing. It’s important to me.  I HAVE DEADLINES! I want to shout “Stop the madness!”

But that is never going to happen. There is not going to be a huge, weeks-long pause in my life. The things I call interruptions are not madness, they are just a part of living. For instance, last week I planned six solid days of writing. I actually wrote very little. My regular pay-the-bills job needed attention. Family needed my attention.  My beautiful, sweet cat begged for my attention…repeatedly. Add a trip or two to the grocery store and the six days of nonstop writing I’d planned melted away.

I struggle with mixed feelings. I want to be available to family. I understand my cat’s need for attention. I have to get haircuts, dental checkups, and  vision exams. These are as much a part of my normal life as writing. I am working on being able to contain a large life, one that includes writing and meeting deadlines.

How to do that? How to keep interruptions and obstacles to writing in their proper place? Here are some suggestions others have made:
·     Quit writing. It’s causing too much stress.
·     Take an extended break. This feels like  a shortened version of quitting.
·     Extend the hours in the day available. For me, that means getting up earlier. For others it means writing late into the night.
·     Optimize your time. That’s a tough one because for many authors, the process of publishing now also requires managing our own promotions. Enter time spent on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
·     Ignore, ignore, ignore. I like this suggestion my husband gave me in my early years of writing. He told me to write. The housecleaning would always wait.

According to many experts, including author and entrepreneur Kevin Daum, for those willing to face some hard truths, obstacles can be overcome and interruptions can be transformed.

“First, it helps to understand that obstacles come in three different flavors: internal, external, and habitual,” he wrote for Inc.

There are times that external obstacles are out of our control and prompt us to rethink our goals and strategies. While internal obstacles are varied, they are issues we have control over and include available time and skill level, as well as internal beliefs that warn us to stop what we’re doing. Like internal obstacles, habitual obstacles require reflection and awareness about what is truly preventing us from doing what we want to do. Is it the voices of people who used to give you the message as a child or young adult that you were incapable of creating the life you wanted?

So what are some ways these interruptions and obstacles can be put in their place? For me, self-reflection and increased awareness has made a difference in how I use my time and how I approach my goals. It’s kind of a secret, but only you are entitled to making the choices that are right for you. Do you really need to clean the house as frequently as you do? Can you pay attention to your family and still claim enough time to yourself to accomplish your dreams? Can you take an honest look at the time-wasters in your daily life? Whether those activities are time-wasters or not is only up to you, and making a choice that supports your goals is for you to find self-discipline for. It may feel like you’re taking a big risk by implementing needed changes. What will your family say? Who will keep the cupboards full? Granted, it takes courage to stand up for ourselves and work out compromises, but expect the best and you might get it.

If trying to carve time for serious writing is getting you down, remember you can go inward and assess what is the real problem, you can take a hard look at how you spend your time, and you can use discipline to avoid too many time-wasters.

Also, to fire up your self-determination and claim your time, infuse your life with useful phrases and inspirational sayings. Follow on Twitter one or two quote sites, such as Motivational Quotes and Quote Soup. I love a good quote and I have many favorite quotes. Today, this one from Manifestation Miracle is really ringing for me: “Whatever you love, you want to make sure to hold onto it tight and get ready to fight off anything that gets in your way.”

What do you rely on to overcome obstacles to your writing goals?

Making Time

I write for a living. I also edit for a living. I love my work and am grateful to have it. But it keeps me busy and it is hard to carve out much time for my romance writing. I have to contribute regular income to my household and there is only so much time in a day, week, month. Only so much physical and emotional energy within me to put out. However, there is nothing like getting a book contract for renewing my commitment to my stories.

I Got, Got, Got, Got No Time
I’m weary of talking about not having enough time. I'm kind of bored but not surprised with myself that I’m writing about it again. I wrote a post about it last summer and discussed how those of us writers who also work jobs and take care of families need to be creative, something we're good at, in finding time to write. And here I am again, reiterating the topic.

I'm open to suggestions for how to put time on my side. Here's a thought from Hope Clark in one of her Funds for Writers newsletter and website. She suggests taking a hard look at life's demands.

"We have to give up something else to make writing happen. We have selected a crazy hobby/career path/dream that is one of the most time-consuming interests on the
planet. It starts as a whim, then a dream, then an urge that grows. You have to do this. You NEED to do this . . . this . . . writing. … So, for every new hour of writing, what other hour of something else will you sacrifice? Give it a name. Cleaning? Jogging? Sleeping? Gardening? Lunch?" she writes.

The P Word
Clark makes a good point, because there really is only so much time to work with. It's a likely conclusion that I have to set my Priorities to, well, Prioritize working on my books. It seems that even though, as Clark points out, we as writers often glow when we talk about what it means to us, we don't do it. And according to Jennifer Blanchard on Better Writing Habits, being too busy to write, another way of saying not having enough time, is the number one reason writers give for not being productive with the thing they love. She, too, attributes this situation to not Prioritizing.

"Most likely you’re making time for non-productive things, like watching TV or surfing the Web. That means you actually do have time to write, you’re just not making it a priority to write," she writes.

It seems a good, stiff shaking of myself is in order. As Clark, author of Lowcountry Bribe and The Shy Writer, noted and what we all know, we can't do everything. We may have to stop doing something we feel has greater importance than our writing. She's found this out by becoming more successful with her writing.

"As my writing grew, as I had to promote a novel I never had to before, the demand for my other hours grew ravenous for my attention. How could I find more time? There went some of my gardening . . . I saw my chickens less. The house is definitely not as clean. I stopped going to the gym."

It seems obvious but nonetheless mindboggling—I have to pick what I'm going to spend time on. And if I seldom pick writing fiction, I'll not produce books. I have already cut back on housecleaning, so what can I cull? I'll have to figure it out. It's time.

Any suggestions?


*This post has been adapted from its original version posted on The Write Way Cafe in October 2012.

Time to Write

I write for a living. I also edit for a living. I love my work and am grateful to have it. But it keeps me busy and I have not felt able to devote much time to working on my current WIP…for quite some time. It's been a WIP for longer than I like, but I tell myself it can't be helped. I have to contribute regular income to my household and there is only so much time in a day, week, month. Only so much physical and emotional energy within me to put out. However, there is nothing like getting a book contract for renewing my commitment to my not-yet-completed "next" book. (Pause here for brief happy dance and smiles for my new publisher, Crimson Romance !)

I Got, Got, Got, Got No Time
I’m weary of talking about not having enough time. I'm kind of bored but not surprised with myself that I’m writing about it again. I wrote a post about it last summer and discussed how those of us writers who also work jobs and take care of families need to be creative, something we're good at, in finding time to write. And here I am again, reiterating the challenge.

I'm open to suggestions for how to put time on my side. Here's a thought from Hope Clark in her October 26th Funds for Writers newsletter and website. She suggests taking a hard look at life's demands.

"We have to give up something else to make writing happen. We have selected a crazy hobby/career path/dream that is one of the most time-consuming interests on the planet. It starts as a whim, then a dream, then an urge that grows. You have to do this. You NEED to do this . . . this . . . writing.

So, for every new hour of writing, what other hour of something else will you sacrifice? Give it a name. Cleaning? Jogging? Sleeping? Gardening? Lunch?" she writes.

The P Word
Clark makes a good point, because there really is only so much time to work with. It's a likely conclusion that I have to set my Priorities to, well, Prioritize working on my book. It seems that even though, as Clark points out, we as writers often glow when we talk about what writing means to us, we don't do it. And according to Jennifer Blanchard at Better Writing Habits , being too busy to write, another way of saying not having enough time, is the number one reason writers give for not being productive with the thing they love. She, too, attributes this situation to not Prioritizing.

"Most likely you’re making time for non-productive things, like watching TV or surfing the Web. That means you actually do have time to write, you’re just not making it a priority to write," she writes.

It seems a good, stiff shaking of myself is in order. As Clark, author of Lowcountry Bribe and The Shy Writer, noted and what we all know, we can't do everything. We may have to stop doing something we feel has greater importance than our writing. She's found this out by becoming more successful with her writing.

"As my writing grew, as I had to promote a novel I never had to before, the demand for my other hours grew ravenous for my attention. How could I find more time? There went some of my gardening . . . I saw my chickens less. The house is definitely not as clean. I stopped going to the gym."

It seems obvious but nonetheless mindboggling—I have to pick what I'm going to spend time on. And if I seldom pick writing fiction, I'll not complete my beloved WIP. I have already cut back on housecleaning, so what can I cull? I'll have to figure it out. It's time.

Any suggestions?


Image from Dreamstime