How to Write With a Full-Time Job

Busy, busy, busy.

One of my biggest fears coming back from Ireland was that I would not be able to maintain a writing schedule. In Ireland, I truly had all the time in the world to just sit and think about my work in progress AND to work on it. It was a dream come true, but it had to end once I returned to the States and to teaching.

One of my lecturers told me it would be nearly impossible to write and teach because teaching requires so much energy. That’s undoubtedly true. Most days, when I finally get home, I am absolutely drained. It’s all I can do to sit on the couch and stare into space.

But another one of my lecturers told me that even if he made enough money to write full-time (and most writers don’t), he wouldn’t give up teaching. He loved the social interaction and stimulation. And that made sense to me, too. My students challenge me, but they also make me laugh and help me to be more empathetic and patient. They’re inspirations and I honestly love teaching. I can’t see myself giving up.

So…to quote the American poet Hannah Montana, how can I get the best of both worlds? How can I teach and finish my third novel?

Jean Hannah Edelstein to the Rescue Jean Hannah Edelstein is the author of  This Really Isn’t About You , which was published by Picador UK in 2018, and longlisted for the 2019 Wellcome Book Prize. She also writes marketing emails for tech companies, so you’ve probably deleted her work. She lives in Brooklyn.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon an article by Jean Hannah Edelstein entitled, “How to Write a Book With a Full-Time Job,” published by The Creative Independent. She lists eight steps for writing a book with a full-time job, most of which are incredibly helps.

Find an achievable day job.
So I goofed on the first step.

When Edelstein writes “achievable day job,” she means “a job you can complete well within official working hours. A job that is interesting enough and that you can be good at, but not a job that you need to be too good at—because that’s when it may start eating away at the time and energy you need to write.” My contractual day runs from 6:55 am to 1:38 pm Mondays and Fridays, and from 6:55 am to 2:25 pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. My day should end well before evening, thereby giving me p l e n t y of time to write. However, I am drained, sapped of my creative energy.

I would never intentionally give anything less than 100% for my students. That sounds corny but it’s true. I have students who graduated years ago who send the occasional email asking for proofreading help and I never say no. I love my students and I know I sign up for being their teacher for life. I’d honestly be unhappy if I did any other way, even this year, when I have the most challenging group of students I’ve ever had in my entire career.

But if I could master step 2, I think I’d be in good shape…Learn not to raise your hand.
I have such a hard time saying no.

Edelstein gets it: “Our current work culture tells us that we should always be working harder, faster, and stronger, but this is a great route to burnout.” Boundaries are healthy. I told myself flying back from Limerick that I would limit my extracurricular activity to starting a creative writing club at school. I envisioned working my contractual hours and then saying no.

But here I am, part of Students Government Association. I don’t regret that decision, but I can easily see how it’s eating into my writing time and energy. I’m an advisor for the Junior Class, who have prom this year, so I can’t dial it in and leave the students hanging. But that means it’s more of a priority than my writing and that creative writing club.Set yourself up with a realistic writing project.
Edelstein writes that your project shouldn’t require so much research that it never gets off the ground. I don’t necessarily agree; I think as long as the project makes you excited, it’s good to work with.

I do agree with her important statement concerning a realistic writing project: “don’t write a book because you think you’ll be able to quit your day job when you publish it.” Financial success is a bonus and not everyone hits the mark, but that’s more than okay. First and foremost, you should be writing because you love it.Think and write everywhere, whenever you can.
Honestly, this step solves every problem.

I have a notebook I carry around. And a legal pad. And a laptop. Whenever there’s downtime, I’m writing. And I’m just going to straight quote Edelstein here: “And, look, I’m not going to tell you to work on your book when you’re on the clock at your achievable job, but I’m not going to tell you not to do that, either. It’s your life! It’s really very convenient how Google Docs means that you can have your creative work available whenever you’re at a laptop, or even on your phone, with a bit of downtime. Any time you find yourself thinking about your book, take that as a sign that your brain feels invested in writing and leverage it: pull that phone or laptop out and write.”Find friends at your achievable job who are interested in your book project.
Support at work has never been a problem. I never considered not going back because the support system for my creative endeavors and throughout my personal tragedy was unwavering and invaluable. So many colleagues bought my latest book and ask about what I’m working on.

Finding your tribe is critical, regardless of whether it has to do with writing or not. All of us deserve to be surrounded by people who take a genuine interest in our passions. Enough said.Find a writing group.
I’ve been trying to get one off the ground at work, but it’s proving difficult because of demanding schedules.

I’m so thankful I’ve been keeping up with my writing group from Ireland. We Zoom every other Sunday and are always emailing scenes and excerpts for feedback. I love them and miss them, and can’t wait to see them in person in January for conferment.Set short-term goals.
Edelstein writes, “Or as I like to say: write in chunks. Sitting down to write a whole book is frankly terrifying….” The MFA got me in the habit of writing in 3,000-word chunks, and that’s been easy for me to maintain.

I also work on specific scenes rather than entire plot. I have the scenes written on index cards and I color code them once the scene is written. IT’s working out really well for me.Go on a DIY writing retreat.
I’ve already written an entire blog post about this. And getting away rests the soul, mind, and body. It’s recommended whether or not writing is involved.

I hope you found this list useful, especially if you’re struggling to carve out a writing schedule to live your best–and most productive–writing life.

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