Scheduling Writing Time

 

For some writers, scheduling their writing time is something that works out pretty well for them. They are able to get that writing done from exactly 9AM to 4PM every weekday.

 

For others, however, they are just not able to schedule their writing time. I am one of those writers. I have tried multiple times to have a schedule for when I would write. However, my life is a little crazy busy (and I laugh at the word “little”!), so scheduling that writing time doesn’t always work out very well.

 

What HAS worked out is making it a point to wake up early in the morning and get that writing done first thing. (I’m a morning person, so this works best for me. Your mileage may vary if you are a night owl.) By doing this, I have been able to write every day on the regular. (However, since I write MANY things every day – book reviews, articles, blog posts, short fiction and work on the books – I do try to squeeze in time to write the OTHER THINGS later in the day! It’s because I write a variety of things that I was busy with the writing work until after 5:20PM yesterday, and I got started at 7AM.)

 

My advice to a writer who wants to know if they should schedule their writing time? Don’t. If you are the master of your own time and can call the shots on EVERYTHING you get to do at certain times of the day, go for it. But if not, I strongly suggest just focusing on a method of having time to write (like I do by writing first thing in the morning) or just squeezing in that time to write whenever possible. Or you can do both, which is what I do since I have a variety of writing projects going on.

 

Life can be pretty unpredictable. You never know what the day is going to throw at you. Plus, sometimes a sickness will turn up or a natural disaster, family emergency, etc. Write when you have the time to write. Don’t wait until the kids are at school, your day is practically over, after you get home from work or after everybody else’s needs are taken care of first. If you have the time to write, grab it and use it.