by Michelle Mclean

Created on: March 05, 2009   Last Updated: March 06, 2009

I have lost track of how many people have asked me how I find the time to write. The answer is easy. I just do. It's a struggle. It's not easy. There are some things I have to sacrifice. But it is doable. Here are a few easy tips that could help anyone who is struggling to find the time to write.

Carry a notebook and pen, a recorder, laptop, etc.

One thing I noticed about myself is that even when I'm not writing, I'm writing. Story ideas, conversations between characters, ideas for scenesthese are always running through my head. I tend to get epiphanies when I'm in the shower or doing the dishes. I may not have time in the middle of a load of dishes to rush to my computer and write a scene the moment it occurs to me, but if take a second to jot down a few notes, then I have something to work on when I can sit down at my computer. This both saves me the frustration of trying to remember something I really wanted to include in my book and saves me precious minutes of think time when I am in front of my screen.

Get chores and errands done in a timely manner.

This is something I struggle with, but if I can get my household chores and errands completed early in the day, then whatever spare moments present themselves can be used to write. I can concentrate on my story instead of feeling guilty that I should be doing dishes or laundry instead.

Treat it like a job.

Author Rosellen Brown spelled it out perfectly. She said:

"It's a job. It's not a hobby. You don't write the way you build a model airplane. You have to sit down and work, to schedule you time and stick to it. Even it it's just for an hour or so each day, you have to get a babysitter and find the time. If you're going to make writing succeed you have to approach it as a job."

Just like a "real" job, writing is not always fun. It's work. It's HARD work. Editing, critiquing, rewriting, researching, replottingthis stuff all takes time and can sometimes get downright tedious. This is why treating writing like a job can really be helpful. You don't always like your job, but you still have to do it. Approach your writing like you'd approach your job. Just Do It! Agatha Christie said:

"Write even when you don't want to, don't much like what you are writing, and aren't writing particularly well."

It is not always important WHAT you write that is what editing is for. What is important is that you sit down and DO IT. Butt to chair, fingers to keyboard (or pen to paper). When you least feel like writing is when you need to do

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