Friday, February 17, 2012

Time, time, time ...

I won't amaze anyone by saying this is written at the county fairgrounds on my laptop via WiFi while my kids are at their 4-H Dairy Club meeting.

These kinds of technological short-cuts surround all of us now. It's new to me, but sometimes my "Oh, wow!" reactions just earn me some eye-rolls from the kids.

To an extent constantly updated technology help all of us make use of our time.

As a writer, though, I often find myself longing for more time. Big uninterrupted chunks of time. Maybe in my sweats, hoodie, fuzzy slippers and with a hot cup of good coffee right at hand. I don't know when I ever experienced that, though. Before working in town, the kids were a lot younger and we had a lot more cattle and things happening on the farm. Now I have to grab bits of time when I can.

However ... so many evenings when I sit down to write, I wander off into the world of Facebook and browsing various sites for the latest news.

So how do I embrace the new normal of working in town and finding time to write and take care of my other responsibilities?

I have to make some choices. Lately I've been trying to "fast" from my favorite news websites, and only checking Facebook once a day. (Sorry, cousins!) I do try to take the laptop with me whenever I might have to wait on the kids at ballgames, 4-H meetings or appointments. I also try to keep a pen and scrap paper handy in case a cool idea crosses my mind. Actually, writing on the laptop while not online has worked out well.

I would love to hear other ideas for making more time for writing. See you all tomorrow afternoon after work!

6 comments:

  1. After our house fire last June, we never subscribed to cable TV again. That has saved a lot of time over the months.

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  2. I have rediscovered the lost art of writing things out by hand. I collect cute notebooks about 5X7 size and keep them in my purse. Whenever I'm in a boring meeting or waiting for something, I pull out the notebook. I've written some of my best chapters this way!

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  3. @ Rita -- I bet no cable saved hours!

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  4. One thing I do -- when I'm writing out character sketches or plot structures (I'm a plotter/pantser hybrid and my current series is more the latter, but I'm going to try more plotting for my next series), I'll have a form copied out and work on it during my once a week coffee house sit-in (also used for reading) or if I'm in the car waiting for my wife. (She's a hospital chaplain, and it's not unusual for her to be late getting off.)

    Jeff

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  5. I know this might get boos and hisses, but I've discovered I can get more created in an hour during 4-5 am than when the household is awake. I don't have kids at home, but I'm head concierge for the dog and a husband. The bonus is the creativity bleeds over into the rest of the day.

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