Having Trouble Kicking Off

[TWhitehead1081]

Hi All,

I hope this is the right forum to post this . . .

I've been a part of Faith Writers for about 5 months now and I haven't been able to do nearly as much as I wanted to with my writing. The trouble is, I am juggling an ever changing roster at work on top of being on call most of the time, some special needs in my own family and to a lesser degree, my own faults at time management. My family has recently started attending a new church as well and I feel like the whole situation can be overwhelming at times. Any prayer for my family would be much appreciated too by the way.

But the main thing is, I feel like I juggle family, church and work well but it leaves me no time to do the things I love to do like writing. This is the failure part of my time management. I have this big notebook full of ideas and random things I've written down to keep ideas in my head. So my question to everyone, especially experienced writers is this . . .

HOW DO YOU FIND THE TIME? I need some tips I guess. I have so much I want to put down on paper. I've recently started a prayer journal for many reasons but one was to try and keep my writing going, even just a little bit. But mainly I just need some tips on how to balance life and writing. Any thoughts for an aspiring writer? Thanks in advance!

[tomoral]

I am probably not the one to answer this as I am retired, but I sympathize with your situation. I can just tell you to pray about it and ask Jesus to let you find a time for yourself when you can sit down and write the words that are inside of you. You might want to start with devotionals...your feelings of gratitude to Christ, and I'm betting He will guide you in finding the path to set aside some time for your writing.

He has put in your heart the desire to write, and He will give you your desires of the heart if you love Him, which I am most certain you do.

I don't know anything I wrote helps or not, but I will say a prayer for you and ask God to let you take that overwhelming feeling and release it in writing!

God Bless, Lynn

[itsjoanne]

Oh, Tim - can I EVER relate.

Grab moments. Take your notepad (or laptop, or whatever you might write in) with you whenever you possibly can. Waiting for a doctor's appointment? Try to get a paragraph written. In line at the drive-thru? Jot down that idea.

Can you write some on your lunch break (if you take one?). Can you take public transportation to work and write on the way? Can you get up half an hour earlier? Go to bed half an hour later?

I don't know what your situation is specifically, so some of these ideas may NOT be for you (in fact, several aren't for me LOL).

Also praying for you - it sounds like you already have a lot on your plate. Sometimes, you really, truly do NOT have time to write. I have also been there. Sometimes you just need to put it aside. Do NOT feel guilty, okay?

[beaedwards]

Great ideas ladies and if I might add-
voicing thoughts into my phone which is most always readily available has saved lots of precious thoughts that I would have otherwise forgotten.
I pray that you find many creative solutions to guide you in your passion to write!

[lish1936]

Tim, Your situation mirrors mine. For many years before I retired, I had similar frustrations, and notes and jottings in multiple notebooks. I really didn't publish anything until my oldest went away to college, and the published article had nothing to do with any of the myriad of ideas in those notebooks.

I remember the well-known writer, Toni Morrison, who talked about her early writing days. Her busy schedule afforded her little time to write. As I recall, her best time for writing was early morning before the rest of the family awoke, but she also stopped to write whenever the muse came; sometimes while doing household chores. So you're not alone.

If you could somehow manage to set aside one hour a day to focus on one writing project, that might help; even if it means getting up an hour earlier, or going to bed an hour later. Someone else suggested a lunch hour. That's fine if you have a laptop.

In my opinion, the most important part in tackling a writing project is to decide the genre and the form. Is it a fiction on non-fiction book, a poem, an article, or a short story? I suggest you start with an article, or the weekly Challenge. You already have a "big book full of ideas." Choose a topic from your ideas, collect additional notes, jottings, comments from your ideas' book that relate to that topic.

Now that you're focused on something concrete and specific, spend your working ideas thinking about material for the article, the story, etc. Whatever ideas the muse sends your way will no longer be part of a collection of ideas, but material for a specific project.

Making time to write often means taking time to write; wresting one hour from the 24 hours in our day.

[deejay]

Seriously, take a notepad with you into the bathroom (and a pen/pencil, of course). Nobody will bother you there! If the kids are old enough, perhaps you could explain to them you need time to write, therefore no interruptions during your writing time. Phone can go to voicemail; unless there's serious, life-threatening issues, everything else can wait. Teach the kids to settle their own arguments, help out around the house, etc.. They're going to need those skills later in life, so they may as well learn them now. If the kids aren't old enough, maybe you can have a friend, relative or neighbor watch them for an hour or two while you're writing.

[lthomas]

I know the feeling. I don't own a PC at home and I'm not able to write at home due to other priorities. So, that only leaves lunch or breaks at work.

When I see the prompt for the Challenge I write it down on a sticky and then let it percolate while doing chores or working with the horses over the weekend. Sometimes, if an idea strikes, I will jot it down and put it in my billfold so I will have it when I get to work on Monday. I usually don't write anything until Wednesday morning for the Thursday deadline. I get in early for work, start the article and try to finish during lunch. It doesn't always work -but sometimes it does. It's a lot like those overnight college crammings for the finals the next day. Exciting, exhausting, frustrating and of course challenging. I have to admit, however, I've often wondered what would happen if I did allow myself "real" time to write.

Good luck. As others have said, if you got the talent, the desire cannot be denied and you will find a way to bring that gift to fruition.

Loren

[Sparrow]

I often end up staying up late to write after the house is quiet. Also, as time has gone on my family respects my writing more, so when I go to my room or somewhere "to write" then they will try to leave me alone for a while.

My biggest problem is having the energy to write. My health issues drain me, and often don't leave a lot of room for creativity.

[Hoomi]

I finally just finished a story that has kept getting put on the "back burner" for several years. Real life does get in the way, but sometimes, we just have to carve out the time to write, even if it's only ten to fifteen minutes a day.

Remember - every word you write, brings you that much closer to the finished manuscript. If you're only able to crank out a couple of hundred words a day, that's a couple of hundred words more than you would have had, if you'd decided you didn't have any time at all to write.

As my wife comments when talking about her average speed on her recumbent trike - "I may be slow, but I'm still way ahead of those sitting on the couch!"