When something is important to you, time is something you always
find. It shows where your heart and your motivations lie. For me, it’s writing
and giving life to the stories that form from ideas and inspiration that I find
around me. It’s entertaining and inspiring others, and putting that into words
that build words and create characters that evoke happy ever afters.
Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hanging out with some
of my fellow authors at a book event. The question came up on how I find time to
write.
Well, let me tell you this. My parents always told me that if I
wanted something I needed to find a way to achieve it on my own. Thank you, Mom
and Dad, for instilling that value in me that I’m able to pass on to my
children today.
I started writing when I was in high school. I wrote in college,
but not until I was married and had my second child did I decide I would do
anything with those stories I’d been holding onto all those years. Just call me
a country girl with dreams of inspiring and entertaining others through the
gift of stories.
But writing a good story takes time.
Maybe one day we’ll talk about savoring a good story and what
goes into it, but today let’s talk about the time commitment and how to make
time to write.
When my kids were little, I wrote in notebooks. No, not the
digital kind. I carried around paper notebooks. They were great for letting
kids draw and playing tic tac toe when you needed to keep them occupied in
doctor office waiting rooms or for buses to arrive. I didn’t have a laptop
until my kids got into elementary school.
My days back then centered around my kids. They still are. I
would get up two hours before they woke. I’d send my husband off to work and
I’d write until it was time to wake up the kids. I wrote at nap times and after
they went to bed, I prepared for the next day so I could have my morning
writing time.
I’m in the tween/teen stage now which you’d think gives me more
time to write. Nope. Not this Momma. But what I do is MAKE time to write. My
schedule isn’t always the same every day. I’ve had to step away from
responsibilities outside of my household and take the backseat on things where
I was once the leader.
It’s a matter of priorities. It’s a matter of taking care of
yourself, your family, and not spreading yourself too thin. It’s hard to give
up things you’ve been doing for a long time. I found a ton of support thanks to
friends, family, and fellow authors.
I still get up early
every day. I can’t help it, blame it on the farm girl in me. I start my morning
with a bit of reading and a good cup of tea. I read inspirational and
motivational works as well as books on writing and marketing. Currently, as I
write this post, I’m reading Joyce Meyer’s Battlefield
of the Mind.
Most days, I spend two hours in the morning writing. And I get
another two hours in the afternoon. Once I week I take my Surface Pro and head
out of the house. I find a quiet spot in a local coffee shop. If life gets
chaotic and I can’t get any writing done any other day. I have that one day I
try hard to keep reserved for me to write. And another day a week, I spend
taking care of all my errands and the business side of being a writer. I don’t
write at all that day, and I don’t write on weekends. Weekends are family time.
Our weekdays are so busy, I reserve the weekends to spend time together and
rest.
Slow and steady, my friend. The key to finishing any project is
to be consistent and don’t give up. One word, one chapter, one book at a time.
I know not all of you reading this are writers, but I’d love to
know one thing you do to make time to be creative?
