Monday, October 3, 2016

Do You Have Time To Write?



What would life be like if you could actually write full-time, with no financial obligations or burdens? I know it sounds like a dream, but let’s go there for a moment.  The process may help you to become a better, even more prolific writer.

Most writers complain they have too many distractions.  Life is busy in general, especially when you tend to your health, kids, parents, chores, and day-to-day needs.  Throw in some kind of personal drama and the occasional crisis and you feel challenged to find enough time -- or quality time -- to pen your book.  Then you have the obligations of social media, branding, and platform building.  You have the distractions of mass entertainment and a computer that you carry in your pocket.  We haven’t even discussed money and a job yet.

Oh yes, the old career thing.  One has to pay the bills – and debts.  If you want nice things, to travel, or keep up with your health insurance premium, you better be working one, if not multiple jobs.  You may even whore out your talent and use your writing skills to freelance, maybe conduct research into boring topics and compile reports or articles on stuff you never gave thought to.

So, aside from cutting back on much-needed sleep, when do you find time to write?  Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could write on your own terms and have a wide-open schedule, without the drain of a job?

You can write around the pitfalls, demands, and stress of life, but it’s tricky.  It requires dedication, discipline, and drive. If you are truly talented, your writing will get done and you will break through.  No matter how much time is available to you, use it wisely.

Here are some tricks:

·         Get up earlier than you normally would – by 30 to 60 minutes.  Use that quiet time to write.
·         If you are not a morning person, stay up later to write.
·         Substitute non-essential activities to write.  Do you need to watch a re-run of a mediocre T.V. show?  Do you really have to go shopping again?
·         When you’re not writing, think like a writer.  Take notes on things you want to research or read.  Jot down ideas that can be pursued when time is available.
·         Use your lunch hour to write.
·         Reduce other activities by 10%.  For instance, instead of going to every soccer game for your kid, skip one every so often.
·         Call in sick -- or even use vacation days -- and write away.
·         Have a fake emergency, leave work two hours early, and get to your writing.
·         Change how you commute.  Can you take a train or bus instead of drive? Use that time to nap -- so you can write later -- or use it to write.
·         Always think about your writing when exercising, standing on a line, or running an errand.  Don’t just think how you want to write and can’t. Actually think of the content you plan on writing.

Or, screw it, just shut down your financial world and quit to write.  Be prepared to quickly tally a debt.  You can work part-time and build half the debt.  In any case, if you make that choice, just do it, and feel good about it.  I don’t have that courage, but you might.  Nothing wrong with it.  Try it for three months.  See how productive you are and ride your success into more books.

Maybe the tension and tease of having to squeeze our passion -- writing -- in every day is what drives us and make us better writers. Let’s face it, we can’t write all day, every day.  Our minds go numb, our hands tired, and we lack worldly distractions that inspire and inform our writings.  Perhaps the busier our lives, the better it is for our writing.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2016 ©.

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