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Making time to write is often the biggest problem for beginning writers who wish to enter the field and hone their craft but find it difficult to manage their time in order to do so. It can also be difficult for writers that have been writing for a while but also juggle full-time careers and a family life.

The best advice that can be given to anyone in either of these situations is to just set aside a certain time of the day in which to write. Even five minutes can make the difference. What most people don't realize is that writing can be a full-time job on its own and just like a job, writers need to have a set schedule in which to get their work done. If you're at your best in the morning, wake up fifteen minutes early and pull out a writing exercise to start your day. There are plenty of websites available that offer great writing prompts to jump start your imagination and help you get your thoughts out on paper or on your computer screen. If you're sharpest at night, write for five or ten minutes before bed. Setting up a schedule this way will make it easier for you than just resolving to write whenever you have the time. More often than not, if you use that approach, you won't get much writing done at all.

Ernest Hemingway once said that if he sat and wrote for a whole day and only wrote one true sentence, he considered it a good day for his writing. Mix up your subject matter to keep things interesting for yourself and to find out which type of writing you are best suited for and which type is the "truest" for you. Use prompts to write down memories or flashbacks or personal experience; use a line of poetry to help you write your own verses; write down funny anecdotes; any kind of exercise that keeps you in the mood and makes you want to write because that interest and motivation to write is crucial. Another good tactic for writers is something called flash fiction. These flash fiction pieces are very rarely longer than ten pages in length, and often come with various "rules." Some flash fictions are written with a specific page limit in mind, and sometimes flash fictions are meant to be written in one hour or a set time limit, and sometimes they're inspired by specific prompts. If this kind of challenge oriented approach is something that will work for you, take advantage of the Internet and find a writing group. Writing groups are common and can be very general (for all writers of all subjects) and very specific (writers that enjoy writing love poetry or Regency romance novels, etc). Often times, other writers are the ones that can provide the best motivation for you to get serious about your craft.

As far as finding the time and juggling everything else in your life, just remember that it's always up to you. Plenty of famous writers held normal jobs and had a family. Wallace Stephens, for example, one of the greatest American poets of all time, worked for the Hartford Indemnity company. Every morning, he put on his suit and his tie, drove into work, rode up to the seventh floor, went to his office, and adjusted claims from 9 am to 5 pm. And then he went home and wrote poetry, and he became one of our country's most celebrated poets.

There is always time to write; it's just up to you to find it and make the most of it.

Learn more about this author, Huma Rashid.
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