Writer’s Lament: There are but 24 hours in a day and only two precious hours for writing.
It’s not a new lament. In fact, it’s one we all frequently address – how to juggle life and dreams.
I gave myself nearly one year to work on my writing without interruption from a day job. It took a while to find my rhythm, to maximize self-motivation. When I started blogging, the energy of others galvanized me even more and I was incredibly productive.
I’ve been working for several months now, progressing to a 32 hour week so I have one day a week dedicated to my craft. I knew the job would cut into my blogging-world, but I managed for a while. Then the novel edits came back and I got excited about my cover and the blog-o-sphere took third, fourth, fifth place. Now it seems I don’t have enough time to do anything creative. Just one thing a week.
So I had to tackle my ever growing to-do list. Here’s the straight forward plan: Each night I promise to read two blog posts (or give myself up to one hour). My novel needs two hours. Email gets one hour. That leaves networking to be flexible. I’m trying to cook more meals on the weekend to cut down on cooking during the week. Exercise (including dogs) can take up to an hour and a half. That leaves phone calls and enjoying time with my honey. That is four hours for my career and two hours for everyone else. (I always read before bed so that’s just a built in.)
Oh and politics and philosophical discussions that crop up whenever they feel like it.
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| My dog Reese demonstrating my feelings about this... |
Well, just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.
And there will be nights when my honey and I debate something that I must research. There’ll be nights when I linger longer over downtime because the day was just blah. There’ll be nights when I talk for over an hour with California or the East Coast.
And all that means is I have a full life. It doesn’t mean that I don’t put my novel first. I live in the present. I won’t postpone life for the future, as long as I give a little of each day to creating my future.
I’ve tasted the joy of working each day on my all my writing and engaging with the blogging community. I know I want that to be permanent. It will be someday.
So for now, how did I climb out of my current slump? First I wrote a blog whining about how hard it is. Then I wrote this one. So whine my friends. Post it or not, but get it out of your system so you can see the ways to overcome and get on with it.
Coming Soon:
Another segment of Oscar’s Nob
Writing theory – Process and Place
Poem
100
Progress Report
Cover Thoughts
Blogs that inspire me
An Ugly Desk
A Tapestry of Words
