Making Time to Write

You have a million dollar book idea.  It’s guaranteed to be a best-selling novel.  It’s outlined and waiting to be written.  But, as is the case for many of us, writing has to happen in between work and other life related responsibilities.  Writing can easily become the task that is pushed aside for the must-do activities.

Finding time to write will never happen, so it becomes imperative to make time in the busy lives we lead if anything will ever become of that award winning idea.  I set aside time in the evenings to draft personal blog posts (such as this), professional posts for the organization I write for, short stories for contest submission, and “finishing” my several in progress novels.  For those who routinely read my blog, you know that I am a master of the unfinished novel.

This is uninterrupted time that I ask my loved ones to (nicely) leave me alone.  I put my  phone on airplane mode, and focus.  Sometimes I stare at the cursor blinking in my face for some (or most) of the scheduled time and other times I get a mean flow going.  Regardless of how productive I am during my writing time, it’s there and I use it.  When I don’t want to write, I still open up the laptop and start the process.

When I am really stuck, I use the Writer’s Toolbox, a great resource for starting the creative flow using different prompts and strange scenarios that can be forged into a story.

My amazing sister thoughtfully gave me the Writer’s Toolbox as a birthday gift, and it has been more than helpful for starting me off on a quick story.  The moral of this story is you cannot find time to write, but you can make it!

How do you get your writing in?  Share your ideas in a comment.