Setting Aside Time to Write

 

Photo Credit: Ron Lach via Pexels

 

As someone who spends Monday through Friday setting aside time for Twisted Dreams Press as well as working on anything related to the newsletter and reading books I am reviewing, it can be a struggle to find the time to work on my own writing: Books, short stories, poetry, essays, articles, and anything else my creativity comes up with.

 

But the thing of it is, we don’t really find the time for the important things in our lives. We MAKE the time for them.

 

So, at the end of the day, even if I’m tired or physically drained, I still made time to get some writing done this week. I have reviewed all the work I have got done this week (so far!) and I was happy to see that, in spite of everything else I had to do, I still made time to work on my own writing.

 

I am currently revising a short story and I got some VERY helpful feedback from a reader on things to add to this story, so I have been working on making those additions.

 

I have been revising my book, 365 Tips for Writers, because it is currently out of print, but I am at the stage where I am not only revising it, but adding more to it as well. This is necessary in order to make the new format of this book work. So, I made time to get some writing done for this book as well.

 

And of course, I’ve worked on the two articles I needed to finish writing this week. One is finished and sent off to the editor. The other one is almost done; I hope to complete it by Sunday, 3/29. I made time to write in these articles as well. And even on those days, I also got some writing done in one of my WIPs (I am working on several books) or something of my own to write (such as poetry!).

 

I have noticed that some people who work in publishing have said that they feel guilty if they set aside time for their own writing. I think this is nothing to feel guilty about. If you are a writer, you owe it to yourself to set aside time to write. Don’t give your whole time to the job in publishing. It is not the only thing that you are. You are also a writer, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t set aside time to write. Just as you are also a student or spouse or parent, etc. You need to manage your time so that you are able to have a slot of time for each of the things that are a part of your life.

 

This is why I stick to “business hours” with the press – well, usually. Last night, for instance, I remembered an anthology we plan to announce an open call for in the near future, so last night, I emailed a writer who submitted a story for an anthology that wasn’t right for it to let him know about this project, and ask if he wanted a spot in it. I wanted to do this before I forgot to do this (again!). But usually, yes, I stick to “business hours” with the press. Once I am done for the day, I am done. And THEN I can focus on my own stuff.

 

Having business hours and sticking to them is the key to being able to still do other things with your life when it comes to a job or career. Don’t let your job in publishing take up all of your time during the workday. By sticking to business hours, there is no reason to feel guilty about spending time working on your own writing. If you are a writer, you need to write.

 

And you need to make that time to write, too. If you only have five minutes to write, then use that five minutes to write. That’s what I did this week no matter how busy it was and you should try to do that too. It is YOUR time to manage and figure out how to spend it.

 

If you are able to spend your free time writing, then write.

 

But some people will think, “Oh, I can’t concentrate on the writing right now” or “I don’t feel like writing.” But, maybe you can? And maybe you do? Try it. Try writing something in a journal, write a few sentences in your WIP or try writing some notes for a piece you need to write.

 

I did, and I feel a lot better that I still got some writing done every day this week. Any week that I am able to write every day is certainly a good one, so make it a good week for yourself too when it’s Monday again and get writing. 

 

Remember, what you write doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be written.