Tutorial Tuesday – The Sacred Schedule

     Do you have a writing schedule?  If you wish to be taken seriously as an author, you should.  Not only does it tell the world you are committed to your craft, a schedule tells YOU that this is the real deal.  And how do you expect everyone else to take you seriously if you don't?     Now we're not necessarily talking a strict 9-to-5 commitment here.  You can play it loose and still be on a schedule.  Perhaps you can write during your regular job's lunch break, plus the hour after you send the kids to bed.  Maybe while your daughter is having her ballet lesson every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30, you can be scribbling down your novel.  It might not be the greatest schedule in which to write, but at least it's a steadfast commitment you've made to yourself.  If that's the only way you can squeeze in time, do it.     And make the time you do carve out for yourself sacred.  Trust me, it's not easy to do this, and you'll have to stick to your guns in the face of derision sometimes.  I'm a full time writer, my main income coming from that source, yet I still have family members call me during hours they know I'm writing.   "Oh, but it's not like it's a real job," they tell me.   Apparently, the only real jobs out there are the ones you get into a car and drive to.  Even though I have patiently explained I do work, sometimes 12 hours a day between the actual writing and marketing, they still pooh-pooh the notion that I have a career that requires they not interrupt.  It's for this reason I tend to not answer the phone all day long.     Even my husband can't resist interrupting me on occasion when he knows I'm buried in Kalquor or the Netherworld.  Since he's my husband he gets the Glare for this, which I can't in good conscience unleash on my grandmoms.  It usually shuts him up in a hurry, and he slinks away, allowing me to return to work.  Hopefully his interruption didn't occur during a particularly focused moment, making me lose a thread of inspiration.  (In that case, he gets the Glare AND the Growl.)     Writing schedules get little respect, so you have to defend yours.  While your writing schedule should not make you inflexible to the point that you're missing your kids' school plays, it should be a top priority in your life.  This gives you the opportunity to focus on your story and improve your writing.     Figure out when you can reliably write with the least interruption.  Then explain to those who share your life that this is something really important to you, and this is your time.  Sure, they can come in and warn you if the house is on fire, but please have the courtesy to otherwise allow you this break.       Decide where the quietest place is that you can work.  Perhaps you have a spare guestroom.  Maybe your house is so hectic you need to go somewhere else, such as a coffee shop or a park.  Look for some solitude.  Don't try to write in the den where everyone else is fighting over the Playstation or watching American Idol.  Too many distractions, and you're too available.  Again, if you want others to take your writing career seriously, give them an example:  yourself.