Where do you find the time?

WFTW · Jan 30, 2009

I'm guessing that, like me, writing isn't a full time job for the majority of the members of this forum. So, my question is, where do you find the time to write? Do you allocate a particular time of day to writing? Do you only write when you feel the urge to do so, or do you make yourself write no matter if you have that urge or not?

Sometimes I'll punch out a few thousand words at once...no sweat. Of course, that is when I want to write. Other times, when I'm not necessarily in the mood to write, I'll make myself do so anyway and it will be slow going. When I write, but don't feel like doing so, I can tell the quality is suffering. But, I figure I'll get it typed out and go back later (when I'm more enthusiastic about it) and tweak what I'd written.

Alpha Echo · Jan 30, 2009

I'm not as good as some of these guys in this forum. I just write when I want...sometimes, that's because I am on fire, and sometimes it's just because I WANT to even if I don't have the bug at the time if that makes sense. I am lucky, and sometimes I have time at work. Also, recently separated from my husband, I have a lot of time on my hands. Actually, i did when he was here because he traveled all the time.

I think your best bet though (since I don't think I answered your question at all) is to set a time. Whether it's in the morning before work or in the evening before you go to bed...and WRITE.

It's like a lot of other things in life. A single 35-year old mother might look at her life and think she'd never have time to fall in love. yet she meets someone and is somehow able to make time for him. A high school student involved in many afterschool activities but striving for college will somehow find time to study. Someone trying to be closer to God will make the time to read the Bible and pray.

If you want it, even if you're not in the mood, so to speak, you make time.

CasualObserver · Jan 30, 2009

Some days I don't. I'm wrapping meat in a butcher shop right now to pay the bills, and I'm not only too wiped to think but my wrists are killing me. Wrapping a two-pound package of sausages is simple. 800 pounds later you want to chop your hands off mid-forearm to make the pain stop. Not posting much either - I read something, think "!!!" and hit the reply button, then just stare at the screen and think, "Durr... never mind." I practice BIC every night anyhow. Sometimes I'll get two sentences out, and they make not a lick of sense, but the point is that I'm in my chair, thinking about the story and in full writer mode. If I fall asleep in my chair, well, let's hope it's the thought that counts.

Hummingbird · Jan 30, 2009

I try to have a certain time of day set aside for writing, but there are some days/weeks when those times are crammed full of other crud that doesn't want to sit on the back burner for a bit. X.x

*Sigh*
But I can grab that time for writing at least a couple of days a week and I get to write to my heart's content (almost) so I feel better.

When I can grab the time for writing than I write even if I don't feel like writing. If it's crud, it's crud, but there is usually some gems hidden in there that I can use later. Sometimes writing crud can get me into a writing mood and I can start writing the good stuff after a bit.

Ms Hollands · Jan 31, 2009

I find time between summer and winter, when the ski resort I live in is dead and it feels nice and cozy inside while a cool wind is blowing outside. Winter: I'm sliding down the snow when I'm not working. Summer: I'm doing road trips in my spare time. I never want writing to feel like a chore, so putting down my writing for four months is no problem for me (and gives me fresh eyes and a new motivation when I do start again).

Leila · Jan 31, 2009

I take my notebook and pen everywhere and write in all the moments I have spare during the day. I have two fifteen minute tea breaks and one half hour lunch break during a work day, and I try to spend as much of them as I can writing. After work I write while I'm waiting for my bus to show up, because that's usually about a twenty minute wait. And then if I feel up to it, I sometimes write while I'm on the bus as well.

If I gave myself the luxury of waiting for inspiration, then I'd never get anything done. I write when I'm tired, when I'm grumpy, when I'm certain that my brain is utterly useless for everything. Some days are bad but a lot of the time even if I think I don't feel like writing, I'll start writing and things will gradually clear up in my head, and then I'll realise that I have to stop and get back to work and feel disappointed to leave my story behind. If I'm writing a scene which feels like isn't going anywhere, I'll bring it to a close and start a new one, or I'll let something unexpected happen to keep things interesting. I only write to a vague, unwritten plan, so often I really do want to know what's going to happen next and have to sit down and write in order to find out, even if I only have ten minutes to do it in.

WFTW · Jan 31, 2009

I know this much...I wrote a LOT more before I found this site! hahaha

There's just so much good info here and the forum is so large that I'm constantly going from thread the thread.

Clair Dickson · Jan 31, 2009

I write between everything else. When there's nothing else to do, I pull up a story and write. I collect the ideas that have to wait until there's time. I wish I had more time in the day, and I hope that I've managed my schedule enough to continue freeing up chunks of time like this weekend has.

I have four jobs, a husband, and a house to take care of. I write in every possible moment that isn't used for grading papers, making assignments, responding to work emails, or teaching. I write as often as I can. Some days it's nothing. Others, it's a lot.

And I always think about writing-- plotting the end of a story long started or fixing a scene that's bothering me, or starting a new story with this great new idea. That way, in theory, when I do steal a few minutes of my own at the computer, I am ready to use that time wisely.

And sometimes I just putter around AW because I need to not do any work for a while and instead need to hang out amongst intelligent and articulate folks. =)

scarletpeaches · Jan 31, 2009

I've said this a million times before and I'll probably say it another million times:

There are twenty-four hours in everyone's day.

Kathleen42 · Jan 31, 2009

I work 40+ hours a week (including commuting and occasional overtime).I usually try to write Saturday and Sunday and a few evenings a week. Unfortunately, I need to get better at balance. When I started revisions on the last book I got out of the habit of going to the gym. I thought I'd get back into the habit of taking care of myself when I started sending the first one out and working on the second but that doesn't seem to be the case.

dpaterso · Jan 31, 2009

The good thing about getting a little older is that I only seem to need about 5-6 hours sleep, and when I wake up, zing, I'm wide awake. Typing starts about 5 minutes later.

-Derek

firedrake · Jan 31, 2009

I write whenever I can, weekends and evenings, mainly. If I'm not writing I'm thinking about what I'm going to write.

The Lonely One · Jan 31, 2009

I write every day, no matter what.

I'd get fired if I didn't.

The trouble is, how often do I write fiction? Not as often as I write news articles. Maybe if someone payed me to write fiction every day...

Hillgate · Jan 31, 2009

scarletpeaches said:
I've said this a million times before and I'll probably say it another million times:

There are twenty-four hours in everyone's day.

But I'm locked up for 23 of them

scarletpeaches · Jan 31, 2009

Plenty of time to write then, if you can avoid the 'affections' of that cellmate of yours. Yeah. The one who insists you call him Marjorie.

Kathleen42 · Jan 31, 2009

dpaterso said:
The good thing about getting a little older is that I only seem to need about 5-6 hours sleep, and when I wake up, zing, I'm wide awake. Typing starts about 5 minutes later.

-Derek

Rather jealous. I seem to be going in reverse. I used to be fine on 5 hours of sleep at night and now I need about seven.

tehuti88 · Jan 31, 2009

WFTW said:
I'm guessing that, like me, writing isn't a full time job for the majority of the members of this forum. So, my question is, where do you find the time to write? Do you allocate a particular time of day to writing? Do you only write when you feel the urge to do so, or do you make yourself write no matter if you have that urge or not?

I don't try to "find" time. I have to MAKE time if I want to do just about anything, including writing.

In theory, I write every day when I get off the Internet, which is late morning/early afternoon; I aim for a word count rather than a time spent writing but it usually works out to about an hour. For a long time I did this almost without fail every day; making it into a habit makes it much easier to get into regularly. Not writing because I "didn't feel like it" was no way to get anything done. Often, even if I didn't feel like writing, I'd get into it as I went along.

In practice, I've seriously slacked off.

Rarri · Jan 31, 2009

Most of the time, i don't. My little boy is 20 months old and rather demanding, so the only solid blocks of time i get are: his afternoon nap, during The Simpsons in the evening and then for a couple of hours in the evening before i remember i've been neglecting my husband.

Captshady · Jan 31, 2009

This a quote by James MacDonald in the first page of the "Learn Writing With Uncle Jim" thread, that fits quite well here.

Back before I went full time, I used to hear from people "I've always wanted to be a writer, but I never had the time."

In those days I used to set my alarm clock for two hours early, to make the time. I'd get up at four in the morning to write. If you're a writer, writing is what you do.

So, here's the next bit of advice. This is what my friend Rosemary Edghill calls the "KISS method." (Others call it the "BIC method," for Butt In Chair.)

Pick two hours a day. It doesn't matter which two hours, but make them two hours that you can do every day.

For that two hours, you will sit in front of your typewriter or computer. You will have no distractions. You will write, or you will stare at the blank screen. There will be no other options.

Writing letters does not count. Reading does not count. Doing research does not count. Revising does not count. You will write new stuff, or you will stare at the screen.

No TV in the room. No radio going. No internet. Fill the page or go mad.

Two hours. Every day.

Your body will rebel. You'll get headaches. You'll get colds. You aren't allowed a choice. You will sit in front of that screen even if your head is throbbing.

Some days you will begin writing in a white-hot passion. You'll look up at the clock and discover that three hours have gone by.

You don't get to only do one hour the next day. You still have to do two hours.

Your mind will rebel. You'll want to clean the toilet, change the cat box, mow the lawn. But you won't, because there are no excuses. No, you don't get to reschedule for "later." Two hours, on schedule.

That being said, I don't adhere to these words. I don't feel I'll ever be professional writer, I don't believe I have the talent. Writing is a nagging compulsion for me, so I do it to shut myself up. I love it! I view it as a hobby though, I don't expect to ever be a "known" author. I write whenever I can, but I have kids I adore, and a responsibility to raise them.

I was told a long time ago. Google how much time the average American watches TV. Think about how many YOU watch TV. If writing is your true dream ... how much time a day are you committing to your dream?

Bubastes · Jan 31, 2009

I've become good at writing during slivers of time. A spare five or ten minutes is a perfect excuse to get some words down. When I'm waiting for my pasta water to boil, for example, I write. On hold with the cable company? Write. Waiting for pizza delivery? Write. 100 words here and there may not seem like much, but they add up. Although blocks of writing time are nice, they don't happen nearly as often as slivers. I do what I can. I don't wait to be in the mood for writing. With the ambitious writing goals I have and my current life schedule, writer's block is a luxury I can't afford.

Oh, and at the risk of sounding like a shill for Alphasmart, my Neo has done wonders for my productivity. It turns on instantly, making it easy to take full advantage of even five spare minutes. I carry it with me everywhere.

scarletpeaches · Jan 31, 2009

Heh. I like the phrase 'slivers' of writing time.

Also, I'm with you on the Neolove. SQUEE!

Like you say with the 100 word thing, I find I can bang out 500 in 10 or 15 minutes; do that twice and you have a thousand words. A good writing day for me is anything over 2,500. Spectacular would be twice that.

Haven't hit that mark in one day in a while, though...

Rarri · Jan 31, 2009

What is a neo? Is it like a netbook?

BfloGal · Jan 31, 2009

I write first thing in the morning. Well, really after my coffee, but before I get to my housework. If I do it right, I never get to my housework.

scarletpeaches · Jan 31, 2009

Rarri said:
What is a neo? Is it like a netbook?

There's a Neo2 out, but this is the model I have.

Rarri · Jan 31, 2009

Hmn, well you learn something new everyday!

Where do you find the time?

A Free Spirit

I should be writing.

Pen, Paper, Prepared. ...Write!

Cow lover

bookshop girl

A Free Spirit

A dark core to every cloud

crushing on fictional characters

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

practical experience, FTW

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

On location

crushing on fictional characters

Mackinac Island Fanatic

What happened to my LIFE?!

bananaed

Lost in a plot hole