Confessions of a Weekend Writer

By Darren Kehrer (June 2018)

Today's task list:

1. Wake up! (Very important step in the process)
2. Get the family off to their day.
3. Leave house, fight traffic, and be at work by 8am or better.
4. Long stressful day. Get home by 5pm.
5. Dinner prep, pay bills, help with homework, watch the news, spend quality time with family or spouse, and feed the animals.
6. 11pm: Bed Time!! Wish it were earlier.
7. Tomorrow: Repeat steps 1-6, just faster paced.

     I'm guessing many of you are not able to write during the week because your life revolves around your family, your work responsibility, or your spouse's life; however, you still have the desire and dream to be a writer. I know some of the above duties are on my daily list. I would suggest to you that even if you only have time to write on the weekends, that still counts!

    My week day life revolves around family and my primary work responsibilities. There just isn't enough time to write during the week. Given that fact, I've had to come up with some ideas to at least keep the ideas flowing, but more importantly, to keep my ideas recorded for later usage. 

    Here are a couple ideas for you, should you also find your writing life exists only on the weekends.

1. Smart phones really are SMART.
• Most phones have the ability to record verbal notes. I use that many times while I'm driving and need to record an idea on the fly
• Most phones have great built-in note taking apps. I keep a list of plot ideas, character names, story beginning ideas, and story endings.
• There are many writing apps available to help you categorize, record, and transfer your thoughts on story ideas into a useful format for later usage.
2. If you travel for work, always be on the look out for great images, settings, and interactions that could be used in a story. Grab brochures, take pictures, and jot a few notes. You never know if those will inspire a story at some future point.
3. I have to put all my work appointments on my phone calendar, be sure to enter a "writing time" event too. Even if only an hour, those monthly hour weekend sessions can add up to finished short story in no time at all.
4. If you spend a significant amount of time in your car, listen to podcasts about writing and related topics. Turn your drive time into learning time.

     Finally, and possibly the most important, don't give up. Just keep writing. As long as you don't stop writing, there will always be the possibility of getting your story finished (or published). You can't edit something that doesn't exist (so a good friend of mine says); therefore, keep the words flowing...even if only on the weekends. In the words of Jim Watkins, "This is GOOD!"