When the Green Goblin Rears its Ugly Head

I know it's Saint Patrick's Day, with all of the green, the pinching, the blarney...

But I couldn't resist writing about something else green, something horrifyingly green that often comes my way - the thing could even be me.

Why is it that we, as writers, get so emotional about stuff?

Why can't we simply live our own lives without taking other people's stuff on?

Why is it that we get angry so easily, and feel as if we're being picked on while we're writing?

Maybe you're not like me. Maybe you don't go green when family members are bugging you when you're trying to write. Maybe you don't get angry because you're picking their stuff up yet again, even though it's their stuff, and every moment you're picking up their stuff, you're not able to do your job.

Maybe they don't understand that this writing gig isn't just your hobby, and that you have every reason to get emotional when they don't see it that way.

Heck, you're at home, why can't you stop writing every few minutes to talk to them about their day? Why does it hurt to get interrupted? Why can't you take care of their stuff?

It's because our writing is as important to us as your outside job is to you, or your schooling, or whatever you are doing that's important in your life.

We try not to take our writing for granted and neither should you.

Get the Most Out of Your Writing Time

One of the real struggles of being a writer is finding the time to write, especially if you already have a full-time job away from it.

But the truth is, for every human being on this planet there are opportunities, free time if you will, to do what you are really interested in. And if it's writing, there should be plenty of time to do it.



One of the amazing things I discovered early on when it came to writing was that whenever I replaced television watching for writing, I'd spend far too much time away from what I loved the most. The same was true when I had Words with Friends on my cellphone. There simply wasn't enough time to write.

So I have shut off the tube more and have gotten rid of Words with Friends. I liked both pursuits, but found that much of my writing time was wasted when I substituted something I liked for something I loved.

Another issue with writing time comes in the form of distractions. These distractions (including again the two listed above) are those things that you find yourself doing simply because they occur on a given day.

Your mother calls you and speaks for an hour. Your friend drops by and you both decide to go to lunch. You have a terribly messy house and it needs to get cleaned sometime. Besides, cleaning will give you a chance to think about what your next book's going to be about.

Maybe.

But I have found that if I don't schedule a time for myself, say, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. without distraction, meaning I don't pick up the phone, respond to a text, or even answer the door between those hours. And guess what? I will finally have time to get a little writing done.

I'm not suggesting for a minute that we aren't friendly, that we, as writers, become total hermits. Because, quite frankly, getting out does something wonderful for our souls, and we may just gather in some new elements for our latest book. What I am saying is that we both take our writing seriously enough to make it a priority.

Getting the most out of your writing time means choosing writing over something else that may be equally enjoyable. If you have little time to write as I do, you know that finding the time means taking it seriously enough to schedule it, just like you'd do a dentist appointment or lunch with a


friend.

May I make another suggestion? Talk to those close to you in your life and let them know when you'll be away from the phone or door because you're writing. If they are a true friend they will appreciate your honesty and dedication to your craft.

I know I would.

Kathryn

Too Busy?

Photo by: Chapendra, courtesy of Flickr

I received a repeat assignment from my husband today.

I have neglected to get to updating our publishing site, and my husband is feeling the pain.

"How are we going to advertise it, if it's still incomplete?" he asked.

I finally put it on my list today.

Let's get serious. Whatever is on a list manages to get done. Those things merely in my mind have a tendency to drift away to nothingness. Either I forget, or something ELSE gets put in the things place.

I like lists. They keep me organized and keep my mind straight. Every morning when my mind swirls with all of the things that need to get done, I stop the swirling motion by writing what I have to do: down.

And then I get going.

What do you do when you feel as if you're too busy?

Writing During the Holidays

One of the best pieces of advice I've been given regarding writing and the holidays may prove useful to you.

As things get busy, less time is available to write. At the same time, however, you want to keep writing and sharing during the holidays because there is so much to share. So here's the advice:



Photo by Edsel L, courtesy of Flickr

Write whatever you can early. If you have your own blog, schedule posts in advance. If you're writing a novel, balance the time between writing and shopping. You may even want to carry a recorder with you to record all of those happy moments this season without having to sit and write them all down--now. Take lots of pictures too. Post them on your social media sites and then get back to your child's visit with Santa Claus.


Photo by Herkie, courtesy of Flickr

Sure, you may want to capture all of the happy moments, but you don't want to be busy writing when you could be personally enjoying the holidays.

Happy Holidays to You! 

Kathryn

Scheduling that NECESSARY Writing Time

Man, is it really 4:10 in the afternoon? I'll be thinking of dinner soon. Where does the time go?

I've often heard that professional writers make an increased amount of money because they know how to schedule their writing time. They take it serious, like eating or going to see the dentist because the pain is winning the war.

How do we feel about our writing time?

Yes, I make time for mine every day, but sometimes I find that the time has slipped from my fingers (like today) because I haven't planned my day out ahead of time.

Photo by: Joe Lanman, courtesy of Flickr

So you know, each and every day of my life is different. It's hard for me to say that I'll have the same time in the morning on Monday as I will have on Tuesday, for example. My writing time comes in-between errands, and last minute emergencies, and the not so favorite grocery shopping trip. I plan my writing time around what is already graven in stone, but I wonder what would happen if I got up early every morning at the same time and wrote.

What would happen if I made time for writing; scheduled it out like a well-needed check-up?

You've probably heard of Franklin Day Planners. I used to have one of those, too, but found that the scheduling just made me feel as if I couldn't breathe. Maybe I wasn't using the planner right, but I found my life sort of lackluster, like the old ring that I thought was genuine silver plate.

I got rid of the planner. Now I have a nice calendar with big squares to write stuff inside. (No, I haven't yet converted to a cellphone calendar). I make mention of the most important stuff of the day, but usually neglect to record when my writing time will be.

I think other folks around here know that too. My daughter said today: "My mom has a hard time scheduling anything, her life is so crazy."

But crazy or not, it's my life. Still, the thought of planning out my morning and making time to write at the same time every day (It's now 5:07, had to do some last minute errands) sounds a bit refreshing, if you know what I mean.

Making Time to Write

I think it's important that we take writing seriously if we want to become a writer. And taking writing seriously means we make time for it.

We may make time for errands
For doing our chores, and that includes household and outside work responsibilities
We may even make time to watch our favorite movie on television

Photo by: Martin Pettitt, courtesy of Flickr

But do we make time to write?

We do if we want to see success in our writing. Without the motivation and action to actually DO something, we're like those folks who are always saying, "I've always wanted to write a book," and then, you guessed it, they never do.

Writing is a job too. We may not think of it as a job because we enjoy it so much, but the best jobs out there pay us to do what we love to do.

Today, if you're using "excuses" rather than "action" to write, take a moment and consider what you can do today that will relive some time for writing.

And then do it.