Make Time for Writing

If you ask an amateur writer, “Why aren’t you writing?” the most common excuse is “I want to write, but I just can’t find the time!”

This is the bottom line: You will never find time to write. You have to make time.

According to author Kathleen McCleary in a recent post in Writer Unboxed, you need to think about your writing time as you would about your savings account. When your paycheck comes, you put aside a small amount first in that savings before you start paying everyone else. She says, “When I get up in the morning I try to ‘pay myself’ by spending an hour or two writing before I tackle other work and obligations. If I can’t squeeze it in, I remind myself that I haven’t ‘paid myself’ yet today.”

An hour or two of writing may be a luxury for many of us, but what about a mere ten minutes? Sci-fi author, journalist, and blogger Cory Doctorow writes, “You don’t need a cigarette, silence, music, a comfortable chair, or inner peace to write. You just need ten minutes and a writing implement.”

Dana Sitar agrees that just a few minutes can be all you need, in her post 3 Tips That Will Help You Make Time to Write. “Don’t tell yourself you have to write for an hour every day, because on busy, exhausting days you simply won’t make time for it. Instead, commit to something totally manageable — 10 to 15 minutes each day. …Set a timer and sit down to write. Those 10 or 15-minute sessions can easily turn into two hours if you get on a roll — but they don’t have to. All you need to be successful is that little 10 minutes each day, and those little successes will help you form a habit that will make it easier to ‘make time’ to write each day.”

Think you don’t have time to write because you have a full-time job? Daniel Dalton (CAUTION: link contains adult content and strong language) states that John Grisham was an attorney with a full schedule, but managed to complete his first novel writing one page a day after work. Dalton advocates a daily word count, no matter how short or how bad the words turn out to be. Cut the excuses and just get it done.

Can’t write because you have young children?  Ali Luke writes in her post Making Time to Write When You Have Young Children: Mission Impossible? that it is definitely possible. She’s learned that you have to make the most of time you do have, including five minutes after washing dishes or ten minutes of naptime. You’ll need to set priorities and choose the project to commit to. She advises that you need to get a great team behind you — your spouse, grandparents, or even paid help. Her last advice is not to feel guilty. That relates back to Kathleen McCreary’s idea of paying yourself first.

More writing instruction authors than I can count have said to carry a notebook with you and write what you see, what you hear, what you observe. Not only does this serve as fodder for what you may write later, but it may be the spark that sets the fire ablaze.

Don’t want to carry a notebook? The ever-present iPhone has apps like Pages, IA Writer Pro, and Notability. Android users have Evernote and JotterPad. Instead of reading germ-laden magazines in the doctor’s office, you can write. You can even eavesdrop and write down interesting conversations. Who’s to know? Everybody’s always texting.

Making time to write is all about choices. Do I choose to be a writer, or do I choose to binge-watch the latest scandalous Washington drama on Netflix? Do I spend the next hour on Facebook or first spend fifteen minutes writing before I go to the cute puppy video?

When I look at my own day, I know I squander a great deal of time. Each of us has the same 24-hour day. How we choose to use those hours makes all the difference.

No more excuses. Make time to write.