Time to Write – a Lament and 9 Tips

There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

I am always trying to cram my creative writing into the tiny nooks and crannies of my life. Usually, I fail. At the end of the day, I run out of steam (or consciousness) and all my good intentions to settle in at the keyboard dissipate like so much fog machine smoke. I sigh with resignation and aim for the early morning, but when my alarm goes off at 5AM I just can’t seem to muster.

As a single mom who writes for seven blogs (three paid, two collaborative, one business, and one personal) while making her living as a marketing strategist and copywriter. My typical day is so tightly scheduled that one extra trip to the bathroom can throw the whole thing off.

The guilt

So, I beat myself up:
If I was a real writer, I’d find a way to write.
If I had real passion, I’d give up something else to make time for writing.
If I had more self-control, I’d will myself to stay awake (and coherent) so I could get things done.
If I was a better writer I wouldn’t need so much time to write anyway.
If, if, if …

The (impossible) dream

Maybe I’m crazy, but I’d like to be able to make a living, have a life, write fiction, and even – gasp! – have some down time. Is that so much to ask? I don’t want to have to run away from home to be a writer. I don’t want to have to walk around like some kind of zombie, all hopped up on caffeine and sugar just to keep myself upright. I don’t want to have to give up all the things that make my life worth living – time with my family, long walks in the woods, yoga, Dancing with the Stars.

Tips … so far

I obviously haven’t got the writing schedule thing all figured out, but – for what they’re worth – here are a few tips that help me get what little writing time I get:

• Pick a time. Figure out when your writing brain is at its best and reserve that time for writing. Avoid scheduling work, life, sleep, etc. during these precious hours. (This would seem obvious, but I very often slip up and schedule “emergency” work for my prime writing time. Oops!)
• Schedule it. Put it on your calendar like you would t a meeting or a doctor’s appointment. Make it real.
• Make sacrifices. Reduce (but, don’t necessarily eliminate) brain-sucking activities like watching TV and surfing the internet. (As both Wendy and I have written, TV and movies can actually have some writing benefits and the internet is a treasure trove of ideas.)
• Multi-task. Combine non-writing activities to make more room in your schedule. For example, I combine quality time with my beau and watching Dancing with the Stars. (Yes, he likes it, too.) Two birds, one stone, more time to write.
• Cram. Do your legwork in the nooks and crannies. There’s a certain amount of ideation, research, outlining, call-it-what-you-will that typically happens before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Use the small pockets of time in your day (waiting for the bus, sitting on soccer field, while your computer boots up, while you’re on hold with the telephone company) to crank out these micro tasks.
• Make notes. All. The. Time. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, always have a way to capture ideas. The more ideas you capture, the more fodder you’ll have to work with, the easier the words will flow later on.
• Get organized. All those notes are great, but they won’t do you any good if you can’t find them. That bit of brilliance you scribbled on a gas station receipt and stuck in the pocket of your rain coat could easily be lost forever if you don’t find it a safer haven. Notebooks, index cards, file folders, computer documents … doesn’t matter which tool, just find a way to save and catalog your ideas so you can get at them when you want them.
• Have an agenda. Though there’s something to be said for free-forming it, I find that my most productive sessions are a result of having specific goals and plans. For instance, my goal might be to complete a chapter and my plan might include an outline of the scenes, the points I need to make, and notes on some details I want to be sure to include. With all that “ammo” in place, I can focus on crafting my raw material into a finished product.
• Ditch distractions. When you do – finally! – sit down to write, pretend you have run away from home. Turn off the TV, email, IM, and your social networks. If you’re feeling really ballsy, unplug your phone.

My challenge

I know what I have to do … at least part of it. My challenge is to follow my own advice AND find new and improved ways to carve out more writing time without throwing my Life under the bus. This ought to be fun!

What tips can you share?

Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who, among other things, works as a marketing strategist and copywriter. She helps small businesses, start-ups, artists, and authors with branding, platform development, content marketing and social media. She also blogs. A lot. She is a mom, a singer, and a dreamer who believes in small kindnesses, daily chocolate, and happy endings. Look her up on facebook or follow her on twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

Image Credit: jotdfi

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