How do you deal w/work and writing?

[Coco82]

I know that only like 1% of us actually make enough at this too to make a living at it, so how do you make a living?

[Mark Anderson]

I kill hobos and sell their meat from a hot dog cart.



But in my spare time I'm a middle-manager in the computer field, giving me plenty of time to write. Hey, even when I'm working on actual work I'm writing fiction! :)

[katiemac]

Schedules. Schedules, schedules and more schedules. That you absolutely, positively MUST stick to.

Speaking of which, I'm logging off right now.

[BradyH1861]

I am fortunate to be in a profession which gives me a lot of days off. I only work 9 days a month. But that is 9 24 hour days mind you. So I get lots of time off to be in the forum...I mean to be writing...

Brady H.

[E.G. Gammon]

I started writing my novel series when I was 12. It's now over 7 years later and I'm still working on it. Me, starting so young, and now only being 19, I have enough time to finish the first book and get it out there, ya know, try and get a publisher, before I even have to worry about getting a job. I don't think I COULD have a job, atleast one I would like. But, if I really had to get one, I'd probably work online, try and stay home as much as I can. I'm creative and pretty good at web design. I'm sure I could throw something together that could get me through the rough times. (Besides, I come from a middle class family. I know how to make what money I do have, stretch for a long time)

Oh, and if you are wondering why it has taken be 7 years to plan all of my story out... I started this at 12. You can just imagine the illiterate garbage it was. As I matured, so did the story. And it was initially intended to be a limited run soap opera, and now I'm converting the story from that format into novels (which is going so much better than I ever expected).

[Puddle Jumper]

At the moment, writing is the dream, I have a job which pays the bills. It's an okay job working for a bank. Not what my degree is in, but considering I still have to make a living, I'll take it. It pays better than the food or retail industry. :D

[SRHowen]

Lets see, I run a Girl Scout troop, work 40 plus hrs a week, am in the process of orginizing a workshop to be run in an e-zine, home school my 6th grader, writer's group.

Oh and writing.

You have to choose what you do and forgo sleeping in.

Shawn

[Puddle Jumper]

Lets see, I run a Girl Scout troop, work 40 plus hrs a week, am in the process of orginizing a workshop to be run in an e-zine, home school my 6th grader, writer's group.

Oh and writing.

You have to choose what you do and forgo sleeping in.

Shawn
Fortunately I don't have kids, so I can afford to sleep in on days I don't have to be to work at 7 in the morning. :) My trouble on days that I do have to be in that early is that when I get home, I feel exhausted and am more apt to take a nap. That my be due to my inability to go to bed at a decent hour too. :tongue

[Mistook]

It get home at 4:30, decompress, do some chores, eat, watch some TV, and then sit down at 9PM to write. I write usually until 2AM. I'm always tired, because I stay up too late.

Of course, there are many nights where writer's block, or research take up my writing time. Sometimes I hang out on this board too late, like tonight. I'm starting a difficult chapter tonight, and so, I keep taking breathers after every few paragraphs to hit the boards again.

I also try to write on the weekends as much as possible, but usually my brother calls me on Friday night and we end up on the phone until 3AM. I sleep in on Saturdays, but then I usually get about seven hours in on a saturday night, unless there's a holiday, or a "date" with my poor neglected girlfriend, or I'm on call that weekend.


----

I guess I can squeezed out about 100 to 120 hours a month for writing, and with all that you'd think I'd be making more progress, but I probably waste half that time getting hung up on plot issues, or agonizing over difficult to describe settings.

----

Right now I'm stuck with two characters in a park who are about to start tripping on magic mushrooms. I haven't even started in with the psychadellics, but just describing the sounds of all the noctournal insects and such - to draw a picture of the setting, is really taxing me.

I need to get the soundscape across, because once the psylocibine kicks in, they're going to start "seeing" the sounds, which illuminates the otherwise dark park enough for them to wander over to the lake, so that i can have them watch half-decomposed Mastodon zombies rise out of the water and go stomping around on land, frightening the bejezus out of my characters and then... THEN... the real mayhem ensues.

[katdad]

Right now, I'm semi-retired, so I actually have plenty of time to write these days.

When I was working full time as a computer systems manager for an engineering firm, or later as a full time tech writer for the "awl bidness", I obviously had less time to write -- there's only so much gas in the tank.

During that time, I had to discipline myself to steal each precious minute.

When I'd been romantically involved with someone (which usually meant that she moved in) my writing time was lessened accordingly.

My semi-pro opera singing also took a huge amount of time. If I was singing a solo role, rehearsals lasted about 6 weeks and were most evenings, all day Saturday, all Sunday afternoon. And that didn't even include the many hours of private study to learn the role and practice it.

Then my dear and sadly departed sister moved in with me, and I had to devote a considerable amount of time looking after her.

So now, as I'm living on SS and some modest retirement income from "Big Oil", plus a bit of spare change from freelance writing, I can spend hours per day on my novels, short stories, articles, and such.

The flip side of this coin is that I don't have a lot of discretionary funds. But it all works out, somehow.

Because I've worked a full time, responsible, and demanding job, and then worked on my writing during evenings and weekends, I fully understand the incredible commitment that's needed to persevere.

My hat's off to you who do this!

[TashaGoddard]

I run my own business (with my husband). We work from home, which has a lot of advantages. However, it is rare for us to have ordinary 9-5 days. Sometimes work is quiet and we have a week or so with only a few hours' work to do a day. In theory, this should be a time when chapters and chapters get written. However, because the other side of this working life is weeks or months where we're working at least 12 hours a day, often 15, the quiet times tend to get taken up with a) being ill (whenvever I stop after a really heavy burst of work, I tend to end up in bed with a cold) or b) lying around vegging out in front of DVDs/with a pile of books to read.

This week, actual writing has taken a back seat (although there's still plenty of virtual writing going on in my head, that I will hopefully manage to commit to paper/screen soon), because I was ill last week and am now working extra long hours to meet a deadline.

From a writing point of view, I sometimes wish that I had an ordinary 9-5 job (or 6-2, 12-8, whatever) that I could leave behind me when I came home. I feel that would make it much easier to write on more regular basis. Getting up 2 hours early would work in that situation. Getting up 2 hours early is something I have to do a lot for work, and if I got up 2 hours earlier than that, I'd end up getting about 2 hours' sleep a night a lot. Which my body couldn't cope with.

I also dream about having a smallish lottery win. One that would allow us to pay off the mortgage and have a small regular income for food and bills. Then I could write all day (and read, research/study, cook... ... ).

[pepperlandgirl]

I go to school full time and work part time at the school's tutoring center as an English tutor. I don't really have time to write during a semester--especially last semester when I loaded my schedule with as many classes as possible. I was on campus every day from 8:30 am until 9:30 pm, and nights and weekends were reserved for sleep, homework, and my husband, in that order.

However, this semester (Due to the heavy schedule last semester), I only have to be on campus 3 days a week, and only two of those days are all day. The rest of my free time is theoretically supposed to be for writing. Only, I have so many projects that I have basically stopped altogether--can't work on all, so I don't have any interest in any of them, if that makes sense.

I really do the vast majority of my writing in the summer. My husband is very understanding and I don't work during the summer--sure some days we only have a few dollars in the bank, but it's important to me, so we make the sacrifice. I tend to finish all my novels in the summer, tend to do all my revisions in the summer, and actually behave like writing is my real job. It's a glorious, precious, wonderful three months. I always feel guilty because I'm not bringing in an income--but I think that that will slowly, but surely, change.

[MacAllister]

I don't watch television, and I don't sleep very often or very long...

[mistri]

Until the summer, I worked fulltime, and dreamed of the day I could work from home/part-time. Then I moved house and worked part-time for six months. However, I was soon to discover that the extra time did not necessarily make me write any more. On my days off I'd reward myself for my days working by sleeping a lot and relaxing by watching TV.

When I got my next fulltime job I worried that my writing would suffer. But this time around I was/am much more disciplined. If I get into work early, I write then. I also do a bit on my lunch hour. I give myself a daily total to work towards and don't let myself go to bed until it's done, unless there are *really* special circumstances. As it is, I've been writing every day. Last month my goal was 500 words a day, this month it's 750 a day and so far I'm exceeding it. I have to a) be disciplined b) give myself goals and c)not feel self-pity just because I have a job.

I have to say though, I'd still love the opportunity to write full-time if I ever had a contract and enough money to do so.

[three seven]

I drive for a living, so I have plenty of time to think! Theoretically that means I should be able to get home and just bang it all out. But no.

[Inspired]

I teach fifth and sixth grade (most subjects) plus seventh and eighth grade science. I also teach piano lessons 6 days a week. I do a lot of stuff at my church as well, so Sunday's not a free day, either.

That's going to change soon. I'm getting to be one of those testy piano teachers. I'm going to quit after the Spring recital. I really want to write more, but am just exhausted right now.

As it is, I grab some time here and there to write - but it's really not nearly enough.

[Jamesaritchie]

I haven't had to do anything but write for a living for a good long while, though my health has been so bad this last year that earning any kind of living is becoming highly questionable.

But the couple of time I did have to write and work at the same time didn't seem to be too much of a problem. I can only write so many hours a day without burnout, so I got almost as much writing done while working as not working. I'd usually set the alarm and get up a couple of hours early and write then. I'd also write a couple of hours after work.

Finding time to read, and to do research, was always more of a problem than finding time to write.

[debraji]

I'm a technical writer, & spend 2 hours a day commuting (most days). Still, it's much easier to get writing time now that my son is 14. Baseball season presents a challenge--he'll have games 4-5 days a week.

[willietheshakes]

Routine is key for me.

I work, more than full time, as the event coordinator at a large independent bookstore. I also freelance significant amounts (to the point that my freelance income is about the same as my employment income). So finding a way to balance all of the concerns (as well as family, relaxation, etc) is imperative.

I find that getting up early is the key to getting any fiction written. Typically, my alarm goes off at 3.45 am and I'm at the desk as quick as I can get there. That gives me a good three uninterrupted hours to work, either on the fiction or freelancing. Fiction is best at this time -- the early morning hours allow a permeability between the pen and the subconscious that really works for first drafts...

Napping for 45 minutes to an hour after work is also important.

[azbikergirl]

Software engineer here, working for a fairly demanding company. Sometimes I get home late too tired to write, but most evenings I write for a couple hours. I spend a good chunk of the weekend writing. I have Docs To Go on my PDA and a portable IR keyboard, so I write during my lunch break every day. When I get home, I sync with the PC and continue where I left off. With the PDA, I can also edit or jot notes while I'm waiting for an appointment or whatever.

[BradyH1861]

When I get home, I sync with the PC and continue where I left off. With the PDA, I can also edit or jot notes while I'm waiting for an appointment or whatever.

Wow. You are high tech! I can operate a chainsaw, work magic with the Jaws of Life, and pry into any door known to man with a halligan bar, but I have trouble operating a DVD player, much less a computer. I know how to do internet stuff and I can use a word processor. I'd be hopeless with a PDA. I would certainly be hopeles trying to upload/download from that into my PC.

But I can definitely see where that comes in handy. Maybe one day I will make enough money to own one...and enough money to pay someone to show me how to work it!

Brady H.

[AncientEagle]

I am officially retired, but my wife is an invalid (paralyzed cancer survivor), and I am her full-time caregiver. Spending seven days a week being nurse, cook, housekeeper, etc., though taxing, still leaves spare moments for writing. Except when I spend it reading, surfing the net, and following all those other delicious distractions.

[Mike Martyn]

I've been practising law for the last 28 years and I'm close to retirement. All the kids are out of the house now so it's nice and quiet. I live close to my office so I take a long lunch hour and that's when I do my best writing. I have an old computer running Windows 95 in the basement bedroom. I also write inthe evenings. I put in two hours or so a day. I write 1000 to 1500 words a day.

I have it easier than most of you. I would have been hard pressed to find the time when my children were small since they were in a million activities.

One advantage of being a lawyer is that people tell you the most amazing stories. Some of them are terrible. I would never breach a confidence of course but the raw material is there for some interesting stuff. Oddly enough, there are no court rooms or lawyers in my fiction.

[brinkett]

Software engineer here

Same here.

I write when I have the time and feel like writing -- two conditions that don't always intercept. I tend to write in spurts. Some weeks I'll write a fair bit; other weeks I'll write nothing. I don't force myself to write every day.

[LisaHa]

I work as a freelance voiceover during the day and radio presenter during the evening. As mentioned on another post, the daytime often offers opportunities to write. Thankfully, both jobs are creative so my mind is usually able to adapt. I have discovered that I work best if I have several projects on the go as somedays I feel like writing my non-fiction book, while others I want to be writing fiction. I know I should probably discipline myself to do one project at a time, but since my writing can be interrupted at anytime with "proper" work (i.e. the stuff that pays my bills) I need to be able to launch into it quickly and get as much done as I can. Picking the project I feel like doing means more gets written. One day, I might actually finish one of them:Shrug:


L x
:banana:

Banana is for no other reason than I just found him and thought he was cool!
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[cwfgal]

I work a night shift (7p - 7a) three or four days a week as an ER nurse. On my days off I tend to keep night hours and since there is no one else awake those hours and there isn't much to do after midnight in this tiny town I live in, it's prime writing time.

For about 6 years I worked from home and supported myself on writing alone but I found that my freelance, nonfiction writing cut into my fiction writing time far more than any "regular" job did. Writing of any kind started to feel like work instead of fun and I found I missed the stimulation/social contact of an outside job.

My job as an ER nurse is perfect because a) I love it, b) it gives me all kinds of ideas regarding potential plots, characters, situations, etc. and c) the hours mesh well with my writing life. Ever since giving up the non-novel portions of my writing career, I find I enjoy my writing time much more. If I made enough income from my novels alone, I would definitely cut back on my outside work hours but I don't think I would give them up all together. At least not anytime soon.

Beth

[AprilBoo]

Glad to see I'm not the only one losing sleep around here.


I do the 40+ a week job and I'm in grad school, and I've sacrified a lot of sleep and a lot of hanging out with my husband to write. I've also sacrificed a lot of homework time (I'm not recommending that if you are also in school). But now I just haul my laptop out and sit on the couch next to hubby while he watches TV. Whatever gets done gets done. I still stay up a lot though - I find that my work turns out better when I sit for long, concentrated periods of time and get as much down as I can. Everything always seems really random :confused: when I steal 10 or 20 minutes to write.

:poke: I like this smiley

[Dev]

I'm a soldier, in "lovely, picturesque" Afghanistan. I work long hours, but I need to write every day, even if it's just scribbles in a notebook...it's autotherapy, or something. If I don't spend some of my sleep time up and writing, I get...um...I guess "grouchy" is kind of an understatement.

[rtilryarms]

Facilities Operations Manager. I'm also an Electrical, Mechanical, and I & C contractor which gives me spare part-time revenues. Some investments are coming nicely and I write business plans which sell very well.

Then I write.

[Torin]

I'm self employed and run my business out of my house. This gives me the freedom to set my own schedule and to force myself to write, even when I don't particularly want to. Right now, I'm sticking to 2000 words a day to finish the rough draft of a YA novel by the end of the month.

IthinkIcan, IthinkIcan, IthinkIcan

[Elizabeth]

I am very aggressive about maintaining my boundaries at work. I have a very demanding job and I am very loyal to them, but at the end of the day they know that I have limits, and that's it.

Nonetheless, I've spent a lot of time over the last few months restructuring my job and doing things differently to make sure that I have resources left over to write. Because it's not just the hours on the job, it's what you take home with you. Any extra energy expended (emotionally, especially, over being mad or whatnot) is time wasted.

In addition to that, here's what else I do:

1. minimal (read: less than 2 hours per week, easy) TV
2. minimal socializing

It pains me like you wouldn't believe, but I've also recently decided to cut back substantially on my knitting, at least for the next 24 months or so. This hurts, peeps. But what's a girl to do?

I've got a partner who is also an artist, and that helps a lot. I don't have to fight with him for writing time when he needs time of his own for his creative pursuits.

[Mistook]

I'm lucky in that respect too. My girlfriend is also a writer. She's just finished what I consider to be a brilliant peice of satire that she's about to shop around. I'm helping her with the synopsis.

[TashaGoddard]

I'm self employed and run my business out of my house. This gives me the freedom to set my own schedule and to force myself to write, even when I don't particularly want to.
Torin, that's interesting that you find your self-employment helps you find time to write. I find the complete opposite and my work takes over to the detriment of my writing and other non-work activities. Perhaps you're just much more disciplined about setting specific hours for working?

[SheliaRudesill]

Hi! I'm new here. Just looking around. So far, I like what I see.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, I work three, twelve hour shifts a week and I often have from three to five days off in a row. Writing is a priority/passion on my off days, but I use my time at work to listen to people's stories and tuck ideas away in my mind. Sometimes my characters will do something I've heard about in the past and not something I want them to do. That's the fun part of writing for me. It's amazing!

[jdkiggins]

I guess I'm part of that 1% that does make my living at freelancing. When I did work out of the house, I was in the journalism field, so any spare time "way back then" was spent following up on more assignments. My writing time was from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m., then up at 5 a.m. and back to work. I don't recommend that to anyone though, it'll land you straight in the hospital.

Best bet is to set a schedule for yourself and stick with it. If you like working in silence and have children, spend an hour or so writing after they are in bed or after they go to school.

I guess some may say I'm fortunate, my nest is completely empty now so I can write during my scheduled times, or if I'm really into a WIP, I'll sometimes write all day.

Joanne

[Writing Again]

I work, depending on the time of year, etc. from 40 to 56 hours a week, plus lunch and travel time comes out 50 to 66 hours a week devoted to work. I'm trying to get back in shape so I spend another 10 hours a week studying Kempo. I like my sleep and I get grouchy if I don't have it so I spend at least 50 hours a week doing that. So out of a possible 168 hours a week I spend from 100 to 126 working, sleeping, and exercising. Sundays are taken up with family and friends.

I'm living solo so much of my remaining 32 to 52 hours a week is spent cooking, cleaning, mowing the lawn, etc.

Lately I've been reading a lot, postling a little, and writing almost nothing.

[Chacounne]

I'm a soldier, in "lovely, picturesque" Afghanistan. I work long hours, but I need to write every day, even if it's just scribbles in a notebook...it's autotherapy, or something. If I don't spend some of my sleep time up and writing, I get...um...I guess "grouchy" is kind of an understatement.

Oh Dev,

My thoughts and prayers are with you for a safe return. I'm glad you have the outlet of writing to help chase the demons away.

Chacounne

[Dev]

Chacounne,

Thanks very much for the thoughts and prayers. I should be going home soon, then I'll have a whole different dynamic around me. Family time, work time, and writing time. I'm looking forward to it.

Dev

[BlueTexas]

I work 6 days a week as an optician, am taking a class, and am involved in a research group. Luckily, I work 5 minutes from home, so I can sleep until 7 in the morning, which lets me stay up late writing. I don't have to be at work until 9, so I can usually get some fresh-brain creative stuff done in the morning, and do the filling in at night. I read on my lunch hour, otherwise I'd never get any reading done at all. The vacuuming and laundry suffer often, but who cares? The floor isn't going to complain!

[ChunkyC]

I work 61.5 hours a week as an engraver and computer network admin at a small office supply business. Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., then 9 to 6 on Saturday. I write on my lunch hours and afternoon breaks and on Sunday mornings while my wife sleeps in. A good week sees maybe 5,000 new words; 500 a day while at work and another 2,000 or so on Sunday.

To stay sane (and married), evenings on workdays belong to my wife and are comprised of dinner and a DVD or a couple of good TV shows. On Sundays, I write until she gets up, then shut the computer off and spend the rest of the day with her doing house/couple stuff.

[three seven]

I got woken up by a call-out this morning and spent nine hours wrestling a Sprinter van along ungritted backroads, while squinting through flurrying snow. Therefore all I've had the energy to do tonight is watch Desperate Housewives and post a lot of drivel on here. Sigh.

[oswann]

Like everyone here it seems I also have a very busy life. I know, for those who talk of two hours of BIC from UJ, for me this is physically and mentally impossible.

Yeah, yeah, wake up even earlier and write even later. Yeah, yeah, Grisham woke up two hours earlier everyday to finish his first book.

It is more relevant for me to think in terms of good words written and not hours spent writing. I have the phrase rolling around my head - 2000 perfect words, 40 times. Bingo, my book.


Os.

[WVWriterGirl]

I have a one hour commute to work, which starts at 6:45AM. I then process health insurance claims all day. I'm kind of like the "go-to" person in our unit, and usually I am too busy to think about writing while I'm at work (although I do find myself drifting in WVWG-land sometimes, just staring out my window...).

I have a nearly-three-year-old son, and my 19-year-old stepson lives with me, too, so when I get home in the evening, I usually spend between 4:30PM and 8:00PM playing with the younger son, cooking dinner and generally being social. When the tyke hits the sack at 8, though, the gloves come off and mommy goes to sit in front of her 'puter and mumble obscenities at it.

I've hit a dry spell for ideas at the moment, so no actual writing is getting done. Hopefully (crosses fingers and toes) it'll pass soon and I'll be able to get back into the swing of things.

WVWG

[Galoot]

For about 6 years I worked from home and supported myself on writing alone but I found that my freelance, nonfiction writing cut into my fiction writing time far more than any "regular" job did. Writing of any kind started to feel like work instead of fun and I found I missed the stimulation/social contact of an outside job.Aside from the part about missing social contact (Liking other people? What's that all about?) that sounds like me. I've spent the past four years writing under a contract I don't really enjoy. It sapped every bit of creativity from my bones, partly from the dry writing, partly from the freelancer's money stress.

The company I write for recently made some serious changes in the way they do business, and our income dropped to half what it was. I looked at Mrs. Galoot, she looked at me, and we decided to both start looking for work. "The first one to find a full-time job keeps it, the other one stays home."

She started Monday.

Now I have half the work I once did, still manage to bring in part-time dollars, and have less pressure over money. Suddenly I'm feeling creative again. Love it!

Oh, and she enjoys her job a lot. That helps.

[veinglory]

I work full time at an agricultural research institution. So I just write when I can. Whenever I seel something I get a surge of motivation that makes reading, walking the dog and eating seem less important than writing. This isn't necessarily a good thing ;)

[tjwriter]

I go to college full-time and am a part-time 3rd shift server. Mostly, I write during classes and breaks between classes. Sometimes I get to write at home too. I fit it in where I can, but a quiet spot on campus with good coffee does the trick for me. Once my dogs quit getting sick, I hope to fit more time in at home with good coffee (Love the stuff!).

[jdkiggins]

I thought I'd throw this idea out to those of you who find it difficult scheduling time to write.

When I was in the same position most of you are, I carried a tape recorder with me. On long drives to work, assignments, soccer games, etc., I recorded passages or ideas. Ideas and thoughts never got lost and I would eventually find time to key it into the computer.

Joanne

[katdad]

In the past year or so I've been semi-retired and working from my home.

But starting Monday, I'll be back in the office. My old company has asked me back full time for several months.

The work is quite demanding, so I'll be pooped after cranking out 40+ hours in the office each week. That will put my freelance and other writing on the back burner for a while.

The money however is terrific at the office, and I can't resist that. Plus the folks are very good people to work with.

So I'm back into the juggling act between work and the writing.