When I meet someone who asks me what I do, they look at me rather shocked, when I tell them that I am a writer.
It makes me laugh, because if you are an Internet junkie like me, you know how many of us write online in blog or book format.
One day I ran into a young man, who decided that he wanted to write to make money, I quickly (and gently) redirected his idea that he would “just make money” writing. I explained to him that if he wanted to write a book—great—but that it may take him a long time to market and sell his book.
He told me that his writing plan remained 1,000 words a day, which he probably picked up from someone online that he could write that much and get a book finished perhaps in a few months. That really can be a solid goal and not that unachievable, as long as you actually stick to it.
1,000 words a day for thirty straight days comes to 30,000 words at the end of a month if you write every day. But, alas, that is only the rough draft.
Issues like time management and using A.I. seem to be our author hot buttons right now, so there are plenty of ways to write more in much less time than it did when writers such as Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, or even CS Lewis launched their writing careers.
They were and still are brilliant, but the old ways of writing simply do not fit anymore. Plus, more people write or work from home with kids afoot, and all of the other things we must do at the same time.
Time management means juggling lots of balls and practicing flexibility. Because, honestly, life isn’t a perfectly laid-out schedule, but if we plan to have bumps in the road, it will all be okay.
Prioritize Your Life
I spent years juggling the working mom life and then I took a few years off to focus on my children while I worked from home. It can be done, but you may have to get creative in setting aside time that allows you to reach your daily writing goals.
Remember the point lies in making this writing thing work, so plan and act on your writing schedule and goals.
Consider the following priorities if you are going to make it work.
What are your goals?
I think that we all have to decide what our priorities are when it comes to writing. Writing begins a long-term commitment and a desire or goal to finish a book or article. 1,000 words per day of writing is doable. But, can you write more, or is that still a bit too steep for you?
Ask yourself is this a hobby, or a serious project I want or need to finish? If I want to make money in the long term, great, but consider that it may take years to see a major profit.
In other words, just how serious are you about writing a book or an article, or even a blog?
Carve out personal time
Boy, we all know this. Set aside time to just decompress and take a hot bath, or eat a box of chocolates. Even reading your Bible is not a waste of time, and really helps many people cope with everyday life much better.
Whatever your need is to stay sane, do it.
Writing as a stressed out mom, too busy to put words on the screen may not work so well. Take time for reflection, planning and time to simply unwind from a busy day.
Set aside family time
I say this because so many times, life just gets in the way of being together as a family. Even as a single mom, you can sit and chat with your children every day to keep in touch with them. Find things to do together at least once a month. Even if you work outside the home, quality time is better than quantity.
Family time keeps you grounded and helps you know that you are doing your best with your family relationships.
While writing may be your call or your job, it will be there when your kids grow up and do not need you. Or worse, if you struggle with marital difficulties because you push aside your marriage relationship to write, it really may not be worth it.
Talk to your spouse, and get them onboard to make this successful.
Create a calendar
You might have a personal datebook or calendar, but posting a family calendar on the wall keeps everyone on the same page. Keeping doctor’s appointments, special events, holidays, and birthdays on a calendar in a central location helps everyone focus on the family goals.
If someone has a team sport and we need to get to practice, then keeping it on the calendar reminds anyone who needs to make an appointment or schedule an event.
After you do this, make a separate calendar for yourself and add in your writing goals.
Planning with everyone helps allows you to streamline activities and plan your time well.
Hire help
You might think you can’t afford to hire help, but let me tell you that hiring someone to assist you saves time and money. This lowers your stress and frees you up to carry out other responsibilities.
Do you have a nearby teen to help you watch the kids while you write? Or, maybe a church or friend has a child care business from their home. If you think you can afford, it find someone to help with the kids while you write.
Can’t keep your house clean because you are always working? Hire a maid. Need the yard done? Hire someone to do the job. DIY only goes so far when you are the sole person trying to keep it done.
Then, Get Busy Writing
As you know, if you have another job, or simply manage your home, preparing your family and your home life for your writing goals and even calling it your job sets you up for success to launch into the business of writing.
So, what do you do once you have your time carved out and you need to write as much as you can in your time window?
These tips will empower you to put words on the screen and create your works of art.
Set some goals
Some choose a word number to complete in one day, and others may have a scene or chapter as their daily goal. What ever works to help you write more and complete your task, is what you should use.
Then, consider your weekly, monthly, or even yearly goals and whether or not they are realistic for your project completion.
Set up a writing space
Set up your perfect writing space. It may be a hall closet, with a homemade desk, but start with a space that helps you create a productive writing environment.
Gather supplies like pens, paper, or paper clips. Further, do you need an inspirational desktop sign, or a wall hanging? Add it in. Paint your walls if you have to, to make it your special place.
Do you like potted plants, or would you like to write by a window? Then you should set your desk in such a place that helps you write your best and write a lot.
Create a writing routine
When you main task remains to write and write a lot, you need to skip going online to chat with friends, even other writers. Sure, it may help you feel like you have support for those days when the words want to evaporate, or you drag your feet about writing because it just seems like the whole project goes nowhere.
But, creating a writing routine, and further, sticking to a writing plan or even creating some sort of outline helps you stay focused on the writing production, which of course, does translate into words.
Keep a Brainstorming List
One of the ways to keep your random thoughts from jumping out of your head and later wondering what you were thinking lies in keeping a notebook or digital device to keep track of ideas.
Some writers use a notebook, and others use digital note apps, or even checklist apps to help keep track of the ideas and tasks you need to complete during your writing time.
It keeps you focused, and helps you brainstorm amazing ideas for that next scene in your book!
Backup your work
Imagine that you are one quarter of the way into your book and you have a computer crash. Oh, what a joy.
One of the best ways to avoid losing your work, and thus, losing time well-spent is to write from a program that allows you to back up your work to a cloud.
Do not just save it to your computer, because as you know, your computer could die, and then you would be unable to retrieve your work. Glitches and online viruses will occur, so be prepared with a good antivirus program, a VPN, and cloud backup.
Set aside organization days
While you might consider how in the world that helps you write more, it does. Think about the EverReady Bunny that keeps going in circles until his batteries run out.
If you keep running in circles without considering where you are in your work and how it is all working together, then you become ineffective.
Get organized on days when you feel like your book hit a wall, and re-plan and start back to writing words the next day.
Organization days actually help you reach your goal faster, because you know where you are going.
Ask A.I.
While I know that some people struggle with this, consider A.I. your personal assistant. When you need to research something for your book, ask.
If you need a jump start about a scene you are writing, or want a paragraph rewritten because it simply is not working, ask A.I.
There are so many new A.I. search engines out there—even Google has its own Google Labs, which creates a much more effective online search for information.
Using artificial intelligence helps end brain fog or block, and get your creative juices flowing again. And it happens all in a matter of minutes, so that you can achieve the writing goals you have for each day.
Writing More Takes Endurance
It seems like you will not get as much writing done if you spend time organizing and planning to write before you write.
Yet, when you consider all of the time you lose when the kids get sick, or even worse, you or your husband, you know what it means to lose time.
Life will happen, but planning on the bumps and using your time wisely while you live the rest of your life will more quickly help you reach your book’s end.
Create a schedule and routine that works for your family. Plan for the inevitable, and you will write much more in the end than you ever thought possible.
