I’ve been sick the last few days and I’m finding it hard to focus. I have this really great start to a new story I wrote two weeks ago, but just can’t get back into it. Must be all the coughing up of the lungs. Sexy, right? Wrong.
I have a full time day job, I’m a mom and wife, and I’m writing. When I get home after work, I have to cook (MM is great about cleaning, so I don’t have to worry about that), spend quality time with family, get little one ready for bed, which consists of: bath, brush teeth, send him to go potty before we put pajamas on, put on pajamas, comment on the messy room we need to clean – again, read a bedtime story, hugs and kisses, tuck him into bed, then five minutes later tuck him back in bed because he got up to go potty again. Busy, busy. By the time I’m done, I’m exhausted. Maybe not physically (I do have a desk job), but my brain hurts, if you know what I mean. “And I’m sick,” she whines.
My family has a sort of different than average schedule, with my husband and I having different days off. While he goes to work at 4:30am, I go to work at 8:00am; he leaves work at 2:00pm and I get off at 5:00pm (get off of work, you dirty minds). All this to say, I don’t have much free time on my own to write, unless I want to stay up real late and be miserable at my day job the next day.
I love to write, want to write, need to write. I just can’t find the time. I know, I know. That’s just an excuse. Trust me, I know.
So, I’ve decided to make a sort of writing deadline for me. I will strive to write at least 3,000 words a week. I know it doesn’t sound like much, and if it turns out it’s too easy to accomplish, then I will raise the word count. (I promise.) Right now though, I think it’s a good start from 0 (which is last week’s count).
If you’re a part time writer, what are your tricks to keep from being too exhausted to write?
2 comments:
Yeah, with you on all of that, Jane. Squeezing in writing time between family (2 kids in my case, one of whom is intellectually-impaired), jobs, band commitments, cover art, book trailers...YAAA! I've read further on and seen that you didn't get the 3,000 this time around. I've read in plenty of places that the important thing is just to write every day. Write something. The famous English writer Graham Greene only EVER wrote 500 words a day. Literally, he would just stop mid-sentence if that was where he reached 500. The rest of the day was editing, eating, potty time, etc. Maybe set yourself a daily goal rather than a weekly one.
Wow...how in the world do you do it all?
Maybe a daily goal would be better. I could definitely see myself being able to carve out a half hour/hour each day. Why is it that seems easier to do then carving out a few hours each week?
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