Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Finding Time to Write

How many of you have ever wanted to become authors but feel that you do not have the time? It is a very common reason people cite for not starting or finishing the book that they know they must write.

It is true that writing does take time. Some people are natural born storytellers and they generally can get a bit more done in a smaller amount of time than others, but the rest of us do have to put in some serious finger time with the old typewriter. So where is this time supposed to come from?

Actually it has to come from everywhere. If you try to find an hour of free time during your day to sit and just write you are unlikely to find it. Usually people get their routines so streamlined that there isn't anything that the average person is willing to give up doing on a daily basis to gain that much time. The secret then is to find ways to finish up what you are already doing a bit earlier.

One technique that I find helpful is to work writing into my normal schedule. If I am out and about doing my normal things I bring a pad and paper with me. I know I might have to sit down and eat lunch eventually and that is a good a time as any to get a few words down.

Finding time while you are at home is equally important if you want to finish that great novel of yours. If you typically watch a couple of shows after dinner, pick your favorite one to watch and then see if you can write through the next one. Even if you just sit and look at a blank screen (and believe me I have done that more times than I'd prefer) at least you are getting yourself into a routine of finding the time to be creative.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that if you do manage to snatch five or ten minutes to write, make sure that you do use that time to write. It isn't the time to vacuum the carpet or check your e-mail for the fiftieth time. That ten minutes can turn into a written page without rushing, and as my grandparents are so often telling me "A page a day is a book in a year."

If you are writing about a spiritual topic you might want to check out Doreen Virtue's Spiritual Writers Workshop, available on DVD at Amazon.com and AngelUniversity.com

Grant Virtue

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