Juggling Writing Time

Authors set rules about their writing time that they follow because this is how they get their writing done. Let's face it. We have a lot of things going on in our lives besides writing. We have families, jobs, chores, emergencies that pop up, just to name a few. Obviously, I could go on and on with the list and not even put a dent in the surface.

Barbara O'Neal in her article B.I.C. (Bum in Chair) at www.writerunboxed.com talks about this very topic. Her take on it is interesting and the comments from others are just as interesting too. Ms. O'Neal, at the end of her article, poses three questions to the audience: What gets in your way? Where does your discipline falter? What are your best writing times?

What gets in the way of my writing?

• day job
• family
• household chores
• extended family issues
• friends
• Internet
• sleep

Most of these things can't be helped or changed. I just have to deal with them and work my writing time around them, but things like my Internet time can be changed. Flexibility is the key.

Where does my discipline falter?

My goal is to write between 500 and 1000 words daily. Are there days this doesn't happen? Yes. Family comes first. That's just the way it has to be. And then there's the day job, but we need the money for things like food and electricity. Some days are not as crazy as others and I can slip in a couple of hours of writing, but then there are the days I go home and take a nap before I even start supper or anything else. On days like that writing gets pushed down on the to-do list.

What are your best writing times?

• weekends
• night after everyone is in bed
• lunchtime

There are a lot of weekends I get the house to myself for a few hours, and i cram as much writing into that time as I possibly can. Late night, after everyone hass gone to bed is another good time for me to write--as long as I don't fall asleep over my writing. During my lunch, I try writing blogs.

I, like many of you, dream of the day when I don't have to go to the day job because my writing is supporting me. But until that happens, I'll continue the juggling act, and grab writing time when I can.

We all wear many different hats and more often than not we wear them at the same time, forcing us into the juggling routine.

What does your juggling routine look like?