By Dame Devon

There’s no denying it.  Writing is fun. And because it’s fun it’s easy to think that writing for publication isn’t a job like other jobs.  It’s writing.  It’s a dream job.  We could all be so lucky! Then it’s easy to think writers–especially those lucky-dogs who have sold books–can just hang out at home and write when they feel like it.

Not so, my friends.

For comparison, let’s look at some other fun things: basketball, swimming, playing piano, horseback riding, skiing, cooking, drawing, dancing.  All of these things can be done for fun, right?  But as soon as a person decides to have a career in any one of those “fun” “dream” fields, they are expected, nay, required to show up at their job and to work hard at it every day.

Writing is a job.  When you are a writing for a career,  you have to show up at your job every day.

Showing up at your job isn’t getting on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, or cruisng the internet for interesting articles or to see what other writers are doing.
Showing up at your job isn’t researching agents or editors or the trends in publishing.
Showing up at your job isn’t marketing, or blogging or running a contest, or going to conferences, meetings, or critique groups.

Showing up at your job is writing. Period.

I’ll wait a minute while that soaks in.  Are the I-can’t-write-right-now excuses popping up yet?  Things like: My life is really busy.  There are other things I’m obligated to do.  I don’t have the time.  I’m tired.  It’s hard.  I’m not inspired.  You don’t understand.  It’s easy for you, because you only have to do this one thing/you already have an agent/you already sold a book/etc.  As soon as things settle down, I’ll write.  As soon as this current chaos passes, I’ll write.  I’ll do it tomorrow/this weekend/after the holidays/when the baby grows up.

Know why I know all those I-can’t-write-right-now excuses? I’ve used every single one of them.  And it wasn’t until several writers told me they wished they were more successful and then turned around and told me things had been too busy, too emotionally draining, too hard to write– but they’d get to it soon, someday, one day, after fill-in-the-blank–that I realized I could never let those excuses come out of my mouth again.

Does this mean life doesn’t ever get in my way?  Oh, hell no.  I am just as buried in family, bills, laundry, doctor appointments, chaos, and problems as anyone else.  Of course things get in the way of my writing.  But I never make excuses for it.  Ever. Instead of saying I didn’t have time to write, I say I had time but chose to spend it elsewhere.  See that important word?  Chose. We choose where to spend our time. For me, my kids and family come first.  I’m not the kind of person who could ever be like, “Now, that’s a nasty concussion, sweety.  As soon as I get to the end of chapter three, Mama will take you to the hospital.”

But even though I choose to spend my time elsewhere, I never take that out of my writing time.  If I can’t get to my job–writing–I make it up by giving up my weekend hours, late hours, social hours, relaxation hours, time-off hours. Just like if you miss time at your job and want to get paid, you make up the hours by giving up your personal time.

I see it this way:

If you currently work a day job, you have one job.
If you currently work a day job and write, you have two jobs.
If you currently work a day job and write, and are raising kids, you have three jobs.
If you currently work a day job and write, and go to school, and are raising kids, you have four jobs.

Just like any other person in the world working more than one job, you’re doing it for a reason.  By adding writing to your list of responsibilities, you are most likely hoping to make it your day job.  And just like most people working toward a goal, figuring out how to manage time is one of the trickiest things to do.

So here’s where to start:

1. Identify your goal: Let’s say it’s to finish a book in a year.

2. Break down that goal: How many hours a week can you put into writing?  How many words does that get you, on average?

3. Do it. The only way to know what you can do, is by doing.  If you can only find one half hour a week to write, use that very same time slot every week for writing.  Yes, even when you don’t feel like it.  If you choose to spend that half hour some other way, then you must steal a half hour away from your TV time, your sleep, your laundry, your internet, your gaming, and give it back to your writing.

4. Don’t give up. The thing about writing is that it never really gets easier.  You start out climbing a mountain and there’s always another mountain rising up behind it. I think as time goes on, writing becomes more predictably difficult, but the frustrations, bumps, glitches, fears, failures, challenges that you’re feeling right now never go away.  So, settle in, and get comfortable with it.  This is just the reality of writing as a job. It has its fun moments, and its not- so-fun moments.

Other Time Wrangling Tips:

1. Look at your calendar. Schedule in realistic writing time and stick to it.

2. Say no to your friends and family. Sorry, folks.  You’re probably going to have to miss out on that coffee date, movie, night out every once in a while and do your job instead.

3. Make bargains with your significant other. If you have kids or are juggling a two-person busy schedule, make deals.  For years, my husband would take the kids out of the house for a couple hours on Saturdays so I could write (work my job).  I’d take the kids for a couple hours on Sundays so he could go fishing (relax).  Do you notice that in my “time off” I chose to write?  I knew where I wanted to go in my career, and I was willing to give up some relaxation time to get there.

4. Give up a TV show, watching news, hanging out on-line once a week.  Use that time for writing.

5. Write in the doctor’s waiting room, on the train, at lunch, in line at the grocery store.  Never go anywhere without a notebook, laptop, pen, or manuscript page to edit.  Plot in the shower, work dialogue while doing the dishes, plan that fight scene while folding laundry.

You can do this.  Really, you can.

My Allie Beckstrom series is on a two-books-a-year schedule.  That means I’m currently writing a 100,000 word novel every six months.  I have just sold a second series that will be on a yearly schedule.  That means I’m contracted to write three novels a year.

Many career writers, including my fellow Dames, are much busier than I am.

I do not own a time-bender.  But I do have a calendar, determination, and a plan to reach my goal.  Part of my plan is I’m going to show up every day and get the work done.  And the other part of my plan?  I’m going to have a lot of fun doing my job, no matter what challenges climbing that next mountain may bring.

Related posts:

1. Balance: Not Just For Wearing Heels
2. No Guarantees
3. Achieving the dream…

Tags: Devon Monk, writing

This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Devon Monk, Writer's Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.