If you’re like me, you have a very full life. Besides being
a pastor’s wife with a full-time position at my church, I’m also a full-time
college student. I have three adult sons living with me who have disabilities
and a mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s who also makes her home with us.
How do I find time to write?
If I said it was easy, I’d be lying. It’s not. And that’s
the thing you have to accept.
It will never be convenient to write.
Time management is one of the most important skills a writer
can learn. As you start out the new year, why not give a few of these ideas a
try?
- Make a contract with yourself. Think of three to five things you want to accomplish this year, and write out a contract and sign it. Have someone witness the contract (preferably someone who’s one of your cheerleaders) and sign it, too. Then, make yourself accountable to your witnesses. Ask them to check with you to see if you’re fulfilling your contract. I know some people make copies of their contracts and give them to several people who will ask about the terms on deadlines specified.
- Map out your life. To help people do this I’ve created The Writer’s Life Quest, a template for mapping out your life. You can get it FREE on my website. (Scroll down on the homepage.) If you have ideas of things I should or could include in this project, I’d love to hear them. (I’ll be releasing a Writer’s Life Planner soon, too!)
- Make a writing schedule and stick to it. Everyone makes time in different ways. Some set a timer. For myself, I have a certain amount of words I want to complete each day. Whether in a book or column, I write that many words, no matter what. Some best-selling authors only write a few hundred words a day. I admire that. I personally write a lot more per day because I explode onto the page and then spend a lot more time editing later. This works better for me than a time frame, but everyone is different.
- When I was a Mary Kay distributor, Mary Kay taught us to write down the six most important things we wanted to accomplish the next day each night before bed. This has always worked well for me. On days when I have more than six, I write them down, but I prioritize them in order of importance. Also, do the tasks you don’t like doing first. Then the rest of the day is free to enjoy! I have a day plan template in The Writer’s Life Quest on my website.
Happy New Year!
Karla Akins is
a pastor's wife, mother of five, grandma to five beautiful little
girls and author of the best-selling Jacques Cartier (that went #1 on Amazon in its category), O Canada! Her Story.
Sacagawea is due for release in Jan. 2013. Her debut novel The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots is also due out in 2013. One of her columns on MNN.com was featured on the CNN homepage.
Represented by Hartline Literary Agency, she lives in North Manchester
with her husband, twin teenage
boys with autism, mother-in-law with Alzheimer's and three rambunctious
dogs. When she's not writing she dreams of riding her motorcycle
through the
Smoky Mountains.
Whew! A Daily Bucket List would be an intriguing way to think...Thanks for your thoughtful post, Karla.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Lisa. :-) That daily list keeps me on track. On the days I don't do one I flounder badly!
DeleteYou're right, Karla: writing is never convenient. Other realities of life are always pressing. For me, rising at 5 a.m. to work on my daily goal of 1,000 words has been helpful. Some days I don't make that goal and write only 100 words, or else I go back and revise/polish what's already written. But dedicating one coffee-filled hour per morning has helped me to stick to a pace that, while plodding, is much better than sitting and complaining that I don't have large blocks of time. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI admire you getting up early that way. I know that a lot of best-selling authors do exactly that -- rise early and get the writing done before the rest of the day happens. I wish I could learn to be an early riser, but after 51 years of being a night owl, don't think that's going to change much for me. :-) I think 1000 words a day is a very reasonable and important goal. Write on!
DeleteKarla,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great reminder and encouragement.
Jeff
Thanks for reading, Jeff.
DeleteWOW--talk about a FULL schedule! If you can carve out time to write, I should be able to as well. Thanks for the reminder to make writing a priority...
ReplyDeleteIt's all about priorities. It's amazing how God will stretch the time when you're faithful to give it to Him! Write on, Beth, May you pen thousands of words in 2013. Thanks for reading.
DeleteEnjoyed your post. One of my favorite quotes is by E.B. White who said,"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper." Thanks for your thoughtful encouragement.
ReplyDeleteI love that quote, Davalyn. Thanks for reminding me! And thanks for reading. :-)
DeleteOkay, I like the idea of a minimum word count--regardless of what you're working on. Often I've seen that applied to fiction wips and that didn't work for me (I tried), but if I can use the words I write on different things, that would. Thanks, Karla! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope it works well for you, but if it doesn't, find something that DOES. :-) Let me know how it goes! Write well and write lots in 2013! Thanks for reading.
DeleteNice, Karla! When I'm in the "writing mode" (no editing or other things on my writing plate) I plan to write 5K per week for 10 weeks. That's 1K per day with the weekends to catch up or get ahead. Each of my Middle Grade novels is 50K, so I've written them in 10 weeks or less. Then I spend "writing" time editing and doing other things.
ReplyDeleteI also give myself permission to not do any of this when life is just too complex (ie: over the holidays when we took two trips, had company, and are helping our daughter and SIL with getting there home ready to move into. I know there's always something, but sometimes you have to say "NO" in order to keep sane and not feel so guilty!
I think that's an excellent plan, Cheryl. I never thought about doing it per week. I try to do 1800/day but admit that when I'm doing school, I don't make it every day, but by setting a goal I at least attempt it and that's better than putting it off, right? I like the way you chunk it up over time as well. This past holiday I had two book deadlines and it was awful. I barely had time to do Christmas and barely remember. But I did learn to keep things simple this holiday and I admit I liked it. :-) Thanks so much for reading. May you write thousands of words in 2013 and sell boatloads!
DeleteYou must be amazingly busy! I'm glad you take that time for yourself to write. It shows how precious it is to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Patricia. Yes, writing is an extremely important love of mine and has been my entire life. Real writers write, right? ;-)
DeleteI tell my clients to pester me as much as possible to keep my on track. The writing comes easy, oh heck, I'm married to a couch potato, my time's my own. I love it!!!
ReplyDeleteAs my agent you know how much I love to write and how much it's my therapy and "escape" from my "real life" as "real life" is often quite overwhelming in this house. :-) I love being pestered when it comes to writing, don't you? May you sell boatloads in 2013 and write thousands of words, Linda! I'm so glad God sent you to me!
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