Author's Note

It never fails.  Whenever I’m in the same space with another writer for any length of time, we always start to talk shop.  Just this past weekend, I was at a party and there were some other writer friends of mine there, and of course we started talking about writing as we hung out in the pool and dodged sugar-hyped kids.  We talked about our current projects, we talked about upcoming conventions, and we talked about the process of writing – in particular, when/how often do you write? 

The leading wisdom these days is get your butt into the chair every. single. day.  Don’t take a day off, or else you’re a naughty writer.  Bad writer, no cookie (or publishing contract).  Immediately one of my writer friends said, “Ooff, I just can’t do that!”  And this brought nods from our little circle.  I certainly understand her point. 

Like many writers, I’m struggling to balance a day job, trying to keep my creative career going and grow it, being a homeowner and being a wife.  I have to appease my boss at the day job since the creative writing career hasn’t grown enough to cover the bills.  Laundry and dishes won’t wash themselves (stupid, lazy socks and cereal bowls), and really, there’s only so much of the burden I can ask my husband to shoulder.  He signed on to be my mate, not my maid.  And then what about having a life outside of work?  Where do you get the grist for your writing mill if you don’t read, interact with people, experience things, and just get out there and live?

But if you’re not applying butt to seat – then when does the writing get done?  Words won’t type themselves (much like the socks that refuse to haul themselves over to the washer.  bastards). 

If you don’t hold yourself to writing every day, what’s the other plan?  Some writers swear by settling down for a large block of time all at once.  And if you think about it, this can be very effective.  Camping in front of the laptop for 8-10 hours on a Sunday gets you more writing time than putting aside an hour an every day of the week (7 hours) like the every day writing gurus advise.  But can you really do that?  I know I’m not the only writer trying to juggle all the aforementioned tasks.  When was the last time you had 8-10 hours uninterrupted? 

Personally, I don’t think any advice can be applied across the board.  You wouldn’t ask a sprinter to run a marathon or ask a marathoner to run a sprint and expect him/her to perform up to his/her top potential, so why expect all writers to follow the same writing rules and perform at the top of their games? 

Whether a writer is a sprinter (daily writing) or a marathoner (large block), all that really matters is that the work gets done.  Pick your pace, pick your schedule, but make a plan and stick to it.  Words don’t write themselves.