Comments on: The Writer’s Life

By: Kadey

Kadey — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:08:05 +0000

Your article came to me just in the midst of wondering how exactly does one stop the creative energy when it is happening. I’m working on my novel and finally it is flowing- it is consuming me. It feels brilliant. I can sit for five hours and get up once to make a up of tea. And then…..time to pick up the kids, and be social, and make dinner, and pretend to be interested when I really just want to write! It’s a curse

By: Essays

Essays — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:40:15 +0000

Hi,
That’s a great info. Thanks for sharing, really like your view. I can see that you are putting a lot of time and effort into your blog. Keep posting the good work.

By: Jaleta Clegg

Jaleta Clegg — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:54:56 +0000

I work 3+ hours a day for someone else, 1+ for a client, 1 – 3 for myself (marketing my writing and other projects), I have 8 kids ages 23-6 living at my house, and I deal with fibromyalgia. Writing is my sanity. My first novel just came out 3 weeks ago. I’m swamped without even thinking about cooking (food allergies at my house so it comes from scratch, not mixes) or cleaning. Fortunately, my kids are great at pitching in and helping.

I’ve been working on finding balance. My new works are suffering while I do the marketing and editing for the sold manuscripts. I like your idea of small goals and flexibility. I usually use weekdays for everything else and do marathons on the weekends I can for the new stuff.

Noise blocking headphones and iTunes have saved me many times. It’s easier to ignore what you can’t hear. Locking my bedroom door and hiding inside with my laptop also helps. I tell my kids there had better be flames or blood if they disturb me.

Good luck finding the balance. It’s tough, especially for us women writers.

By: Annarkie

Annarkie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:36:24 +0000

I try my best to write in the mornings, and again in the evenings when the kids are in bed. My worst problem is finding time to clean the house. But I have since discovered that listening to music while cleaning gives me great inspiration for book scenes.
My man can be another hangup. My computer is in the living room (the only place that it fits) and he’s one of those people that wants the tv constantly blaring. I finally gathered the nerve to ask him to go away for at least an hour each day so I can write in peace and he is nice enough to go do yardwork or hang out with the neighbor for a while each day.

By: HWPetty

HWPetty — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:58:29 +0000

I work a full time day job, which is 8 hours wasted when I could have been writing.

But I’m lucky to have a husband and three grandparents in town who take on the FOUR YEAR OLD OF TERROR often enough that I’m free to write in the evenings and on weekends.

I also have a smallish group of other writers in the area who do crit groups and writing nights with me. We’re talking about starting a Friday Night Work Night tradition where we take turns hosting and keep each other accountable to write until our eyes start closing in sleep.

Here’s hoping it works!

By: Heidi

Heidi — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:40:56 +0000

I have a day job with a 45 minute commute twice a day. In order for me to get any writing done, I use my lunch hour on workdays, with at least an hour in the evenings dedicated to some aspect of writing: editing, world building or just re-reading what was written earlier. I also write long hand on the train going home at night. I tend to carve out a block of time on the weekends to write, marathon style. My husband is very supportive & encourages me to keep writing. At some point I’d like to be a full time writer, but it’s not a reality for me right now. So I FIND the time to write when & where I can.