Life as a writer is quite interesting. The world surrounds you with inspiration. People, nature, pop culture, the news. Ideas are everywhere. For many, that’s the easy part.
The hard part, at least for me, is finding time to write. Writing is a huge part of my life, yet I’m not at the point where it’s a source of income. So it’s not easy.
I have a “real job” that’s a top priority because it pays the bills. That’s kind of important as an adult. Above that, though, I have my family. We have to maintain those connections, make sure everyone is taken care of. Dinner, laundry, dishes… It’s a job in itself. If you have pets, that’s a whole other level. Me, I have five guinea pigs and an outside cat. Separate chores, separate responsibilities. And let’s not forget our friends. The people that help make you who you are. Many of which were your first supporters.
Of course, there are other things that could be added to the priority list. A second job or church life. Maybe you’re part of the PTO Committee. Maybe you help an older family member or you’ve recently moved and you’re still trying to make your home a “home.”
But where does writing fit in? Where do you make time? Better yet, where do you find the energy? After all the daily to-dos, writing ranks pretty low on the priority totem pole for me.
So let’s get a discussion going. What’s your writing schedule look like? Do you struggle with time and/or energy? Are you able to take a break from life’s chaos and make it happen? Tell us all your secrets!
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I enjoyed your post, Mar.
Forgive the long post, but as Super-Tramp sang, I have to ‘Take the Long Way Home.’
I ‘retired’ in 2007 after twelve years as a paramedic and then twenty-seven years as an ER RN at 58. My wife had been an OB nurse for thirty-five years in a small hospital in mid-Michigan. She had been a shift supervisor and ultimately became the department supervisor.
As the medical field changed (and in my never-to-be-humble opinion, not for the better!) in 2006, smaller hospitals closed their CCU, OB, and ICU units, meaning anything serious was taken by ambulance or Aero-Med type helicopters. A pregnant mother had to travel an hour or more to get to a hospital with an open OB department, and as we all know, babies don’t always wait.
As a medic, I delivered thirty-four babies in the field, plus my own two children at the hospital. I delivered my first baby in the concession stand of the old Greenville Drive-in on the Fourth of July 1973. She wanted to see the fireworks and ended up being the fireworks. We had set it up with Judy’s OB doctor, and everything came off without a hitch. Judy did her job as a mom-to-be, and I was proud of her self-control.
When they closed down the OB department in Ionia, Michigan, Judy decided she would not work in any other department, so we applied for the new concept of traveling nurses. Two hours after she applied, she landed a job in Port St. Lucie, Florida (PSL). We ended up moving all over Florida every ninety days, from PSL to Miami, to Tampa, St. Pete, Brandon, Ocala, Sebring, and Avon Park, and then on to San Jose, San Francisco, LA, and San Diego before finally coming back to Sebring.
As my father often told me, ‘I told you all of that so you would understand this.’ I had recently retired because I had blown out my lumbar spine doing CPR on a patient when the gurney collapsed. My work days were done, but I had just begun to write again. As Judy traveled, I would set up a corner in our new apartment. Judy always worked 7P to 7A, four days a week, so I wrote from 9 AM to 11 AM and then again from 8 PM to 11 PM. I did that for eight years. When she had her stroke at work in a hospital in Sebring, my schedule changed to more of a ‘catch as catch can.’ It bothered me, but I was driven to write, so I found the time when I could.
As Judy’s health deteriorated, I found a more set schedule, but I had told her I would always care for her until she went ‘home,’ and I did. It was extremely exhausting and emotionally draining, but I kept my promise to her. She died in my arms in April 2018.
I wrote little for a few months but began again to sweep my mind clean. Some of my stuff was ‘good,’ but I had forgotten or no longer cared about grammar for a year. Then came Lisa, the woman who saved me from my agenda of self-destruction.
Now, I write from 9:30 AM to about 11:30 and then again from 6 PM to 8:30 PM, usually seven days a week. What was that old Disney song? “I’m just a rabbit, and it’s a habit…”
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Oh Verwayne, you tell the best stories. Even in a comment. ❤ You've had such an extraordinary life and I love that you've always found time to write. Thank you for sharing this with me and taking a trip down memory lane.
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Thank you, Mar.
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Interesting post, Mar. I started writing full-time in 2012 and have published six books, with the seventh at the editor. In addition to that, I post six days a week on my blog. So the schedule is like this. First, I write 500 words daily on the manuscript du jour and then turn to the blog. After that, I do emails and other blog visits. So the writing day is from 10:00 to 5:00, six days a week. Good thing I like it. 😊
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I envy you, John! But I also know you’ve earned it. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your schedule with us. You’re very dedicated to what you do and it shows. ❤
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Thank you, Mar.
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I think, for many of us writers, finding time to write in the work-a-day world is a common problem. You are not alone, Mar. We just have to put our words to paper when time allows. It’s why I’ve taken so long since my last release. Hopefully I’ll have something new shortly.
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Thanks for stopping by, Beem, and sharing in the writer woes. Can’t wait for your next one! 🙂
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I think this is every writer’s conundrum, Mar. Writing is sooo time-consuming if we want to do it well, and time is always at a premium. I write full time and still feel crunched. I don’t know how people who work and have families manage it, which is why I didn’t start until I was 50. One of the things I do is get up at 4 am every day, get a coffee, and sit down and write (no email, no internet, no FB) just write. It’s my most productive, least distracted time. Another thing I do is give myself mini-word count goals. For me, that’s 1000 words a day. I make it a priority and less important things (laundry, dishes, showers, television, internet) have to wait until that’s done. If I fall short, I catch up on the weekend. Just think, 1000 words a day is a first draft in 3 months! Even if the goal is 500 words a day, that’s a complete draft in 6 months! Not too shabby. Happy Writing!
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That’s such great motivation, Diana! If only I had your dedication. Maybe I can soon get to that point, where I wake up before work and get some writing done. Goals!!! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with me.
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It’s a whole different story when you’re working, Mar. Just keep writing when you feel the impulse, and enjoy it. That’s the most important part. ❤
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❤
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I hear you about finding the time. For me, it’s 5am rain or shine.
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That’s great, Mark. I keep thinking I can do something similar but I like sleep too much. 😂
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