Finding Time to Write
What do you do in your spare time?
Yes, I still hold a regular nine to five job. I do not sit around all day sipping coffee, plotting my next masterpiece, watching all the royalties roll in. I’m not there yet as an author, although I do get closer and closer with each passing month. It will be interesting to see what the next year or two brings. In the meantime, I do work a full-time job…did I mention I also have two kids, two cats, a husband and a house??? Yes, just like many others, I have all of that, too.
So when do I find time to write?
As I mentioned in a previous post, my cell phone is my best friend. Thanks to modern technology and the Word and OneDrive app, I’m able to write little bits here and there. Big chunks are saved for evenings, weekends, and road trips (with my husband driving, of course). It sounds easy, but I’ve also had to make a lot of sacrifices. When friends and coworkers discuss their latest Netflix addiction, of course, I’m completely dumbfounded. I do not watch television . Barely. It’s an event to see me sitting in front of the screen. I also don’t burn hours on YouTube. My internet usage is solely for writing research, uploading manuscripts, and creating marketing materials.
Do I take breaks?
Of course. But to me, writing is my break. There is nothing more fulfilling than sitting down and writing a scene, plotting another scene, planning my next masterpiece, or reading through and editing a complete scene. In fact, many times it looks like I’m staring at a wall, but in fact, I’m plotting. My kids have learned this…when mom has a smile on her face but she’s gazing at a spot on the floor, it’s because she’s formulating another scene.
The secret is to write constantly.
Every day. Even if it’s just for ten minutes. This way it’s always fresh. A little trick is to leave a sentence unfinished at the end of a writing session. This triggers my creativity, and helps my brain jump back onto the writing machine quickly, so I can veer back to where my mind was the last time I wrote. It works well.
Fortunately, for me, I’ve been writing for so long, that it’s probably part of my DNA now. If I don’t write for a couple of days (it happens sometimes), I almost feel lost. A part of me is missing. It’s like my brain has been sitting around for too long and I need to stretch again.
When I’m able to write in chunks, I’m in my element.
Often, my husband will take the kids out for an hour or two on the weekends, and I go to town on my laptop. As I finish a chapter, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. And when the book is complete, it’s such a great pat on the back.
So, it’s not a matter of finding time to write.
It’s using what disposable time I have efficiently. You may think that all I ever do outside of work is write. Not true. I also exercise for at least ninety minutes a day, take walks every evening (weekends, too), and don’t get me on the phone or I’ll talk your ear off…just ask my best friend and my mom. Plus, our family is a pack of Disney Dorks. We sit around planning our next vacation or discuss previous vacations on a regular basis.
I’m one of those people...
...that puts something in the microwave and then finds five things to do while I wait for it to finish. Yeah, one of those annoying people that never sits down…unless it’s to write.
Efficiency and using my time wisely. That’s how I do it.
What do you do with your spare time?
See what other readers do in their spare time by checking out this awesome promo!
Proceed with Caution is going Permafree!
What does this mean?
Well, it means that the book (Book One of the Ford Brothers series) will always be FREE.
I'm hoping to go this route so everyone can enjoy the first book in the series, and hopefully go on to pick up the others.
How can you help?
Proceed with Caution is available at all major retailers for free right now...except Amazon. It sells for $0.99 there. That is where you come in. Amazon does not allow authors to place their book on their site for free (unless they place their book in Amazon Prime). To be free, it has to be price matched.
Go to the product page at either Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or Amazon.co.uk, or whatever marketplace you are in, and scroll down to the ' Product Details ' section. Click on it and enter the URL where you saw the book at a lower price. This is also how you can pick up your free copy of Proceed with Caution from Amazon if that is your preferred retailer.
It should only take a few people to pull this off, so if you want a free copy of the book from Amazon, please feel free to use this method.
Thanks in advance for your help! :)
Here are links (US) to where you can pick up Proceed with Caution for FREE
Google Play
Apple
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Also...all the other books in the series have been marked down to $0.99 for all retailers
Enjoy binge reading!!!
Yes, I still hold a regular nine to five job. I do not sit around all day sipping coffee, plotting my next masterpiece, watching all the royalties roll in. I’m not there yet as an author, although I do get closer and closer with each passing month. It will be interesting to see what the next year or two brings. In the meantime, I do work a full-time job…did I mention I also have two kids, two cats, a husband and a house??? Yes, just like many others, I have all of that, too.
So when do I find time to write?
As I mentioned in a previous post, my cell phone is my best friend. Thanks to modern technology and the Word and OneDrive app, I’m able to write little bits here and there. Big chunks are saved for evenings, weekends, and road trips (with my husband driving, of course). It sounds easy, but I’ve also had to make a lot of sacrifices. When friends and coworkers discuss their latest Netflix addiction, of course, I’m completely dumbfounded. I do not watch television . Barely. It’s an event to see me sitting in front of the screen. I also don’t burn hours on YouTube. My internet usage is solely for writing research, uploading manuscripts, and creating marketing materials.
Do I take breaks?
Of course. But to me, writing is my break. There is nothing more fulfilling than sitting down and writing a scene, plotting another scene, planning my next masterpiece, or reading through and editing a complete scene. In fact, many times it looks like I’m staring at a wall, but in fact, I’m plotting. My kids have learned this…when mom has a smile on her face but she’s gazing at a spot on the floor, it’s because she’s formulating another scene.
The secret is to write constantly.
Every day. Even if it’s just for ten minutes. This way it’s always fresh. A little trick is to leave a sentence unfinished at the end of a writing session. This triggers my creativity, and helps my brain jump back onto the writing machine quickly, so I can veer back to where my mind was the last time I wrote. It works well.
Fortunately, for me, I’ve been writing for so long, that it’s probably part of my DNA now. If I don’t write for a couple of days (it happens sometimes), I almost feel lost. A part of me is missing. It’s like my brain has been sitting around for too long and I need to stretch again.
When I’m able to write in chunks, I’m in my element.
Often, my husband will take the kids out for an hour or two on the weekends, and I go to town on my laptop. As I finish a chapter, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. And when the book is complete, it’s such a great pat on the back.
So, it’s not a matter of finding time to write.
It’s using what disposable time I have efficiently. You may think that all I ever do outside of work is write. Not true. I also exercise for at least ninety minutes a day, take walks every evening (weekends, too), and don’t get me on the phone or I’ll talk your ear off…just ask my best friend and my mom. Plus, our family is a pack of Disney Dorks. We sit around planning our next vacation or discuss previous vacations on a regular basis.
I’m one of those people...
...that puts something in the microwave and then finds five things to do while I wait for it to finish. Yeah, one of those annoying people that never sits down…unless it’s to write.
Efficiency and using my time wisely. That’s how I do it.
What do you do with your spare time?
See what other readers do in their spare time by checking out this awesome promo!
Proceed with Caution is going Permafree!
What does this mean?
Well, it means that the book (Book One of the Ford Brothers series) will always be FREE.
I'm hoping to go this route so everyone can enjoy the first book in the series, and hopefully go on to pick up the others.
How can you help?
Proceed with Caution is available at all major retailers for free right now...except Amazon. It sells for $0.99 there. That is where you come in. Amazon does not allow authors to place their book on their site for free (unless they place their book in Amazon Prime). To be free, it has to be price matched.
Go to the product page at either Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or Amazon.co.uk, or whatever marketplace you are in, and scroll down to the ' Product Details ' section. Click on it and enter the URL where you saw the book at a lower price. This is also how you can pick up your free copy of Proceed with Caution from Amazon if that is your preferred retailer.
It should only take a few people to pull this off, so if you want a free copy of the book from Amazon, please feel free to use this method.
Thanks in advance for your help! :)
Here are links (US) to where you can pick up Proceed with Caution for FREE
Google Play
Apple
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Also...all the other books in the series have been marked down to $0.99 for all retailers
Enjoy binge reading!!!
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