Do you ever feel as though you have to search for time to write? I have that feeling often. Your dreams of completing a story can seem elusive not only because of day to day things like school and work, but also things that can be time wasters such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. You might get discouraged when two weeks have gone by and you’ve hardly even thought about your story. Maybe a character idea popped into your head, but you were hanging out with your friends, so you didn’t even write it down. Maybe you tried to stay up at night to write, but the next day you felt like you were sleepwalking. I used to think, ‘If great writers are the ones who pump out thousands of words a day and devout their lives to writing, I’m a pretty lame writer.’ However, everyone has lives outside of writing. At times, I wish I could hide away like a monk and write all the time, but honestly, how interesting would my stories be? I’ve learned that inspiration comes from my everyday life. I’ve found that it’s a very good idea to carry a notebook around so that when something inspires an idea for a story, I can write it down. If you do chores around the house, be thinking about plot lines or character sketches (that’s when I get my best ideas for my stories). Often, I will think up a scene in my head then write it down; later when I actually get the time, I already have a rough scene to work around.
Although writing time is important, there are often other necessary things to think about during the day. I can’t even pretend to focus on my story and my homework at the same time. Instead of trying to write during lunch and at breaks like some people do, I like to do my homework during those times, so that evening I have less homework to do and I can write longer before bed (however, you will be able to function a lot better both in writing and in everyday life if you make sure you get sufficient sleep). Write when you can, but make sure you concentrate on the important things at hand.
Time wasters are deleterious (I just learned that word) to your writing. Not only can they steal away the time that you could be writing, but they can also suck your energy and inspiration to write. For me, Facebook is the greatest struggle. In order to bypass the urge to spend fifteen minutes every couple of hours on it, I set a time (say 4 o’clock) that I will get on. Sometimes I’ll look at the clock and decide to get off in twenty minutes, no matter who I’m talking to or what I’m reading. Especially if you do your writing on the computer, it’s very easy to want to jump on the internet, but resist the temptation! TV is another major time waster. Is it really necessary to watch three episodes of Hannah Montana (two of which you’ve already seen) in one night? (Yes, this is a personal issue of mine lol.) If you aren’t willing to skimp on your favorite shows, write some before you go watch or determine to watch only 30 minutes before you start writing. TV and internet can be good tools and entertainment, but they can also be parasites to your writing time.
Sometimes, if you don’t have a lot of writing time in a day, you can get discouraged and procrastinate when you actually do get the time. I suggest making a list of how many words you want to write each day then aim for that goal. Maybe set a goal to write 1000 to 1500 on Monday and Tuesday but only 500 to 1000 on Wednesday and Thursday. On the weekends you can aim for higher goals like 2000 on Friday and 2500 on Saturday and Sunday. If you reach those goals, fantastic! If you don’t, move on and see what you can get done the next day. As in the rest of life, if you don’t set goals, you probably won’t get to where you want to go.
Write when you can, but don’t get discouraged when life gets in the way. It is perfectly normal to have to struggle for time to write, but don’t let that stop you. Just keep writing!
