Making Effective Free Time

One of the hardest things I find when trying to do my own writing is finding free time to sit down and write. With work, school, exercise, and trying to maintain a social life it can be hard to find a few hours to actually sit down and write. That is when I figured out what I was doing wrong.

I don't need to try and schedule hours of time to sit down and write (at least not until I can get paid to do it for a living). Instead I just look at when I have some actual down time form the things I have to do. Even if it is only twenty or thirty minutes a day I try to get something down on paper. I have made a habit of watching a ball game with my laptop in arms reach so I can try to knock out a few paragraphs during commercials or half-time. And in the world of smartphones, any time I have an idea of something I jot down a note to myself so I don't forget it. I've even been guilty if emailing myself from work when an idea hits me.

So remember, it is not the quantity of time that you spend writing; but the quality. You may find taking twenty minutes a day and knocking out half a page at a time much more satisfying then spending an hour and producing the same content. And remember, you can always go back and edit once that first draft is done.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Novel Writing Month

 So next week starts National Novel Writing Month (or NANOWRIMO or NANO). The idea for those who may not know is that you give yourself the challenge of writing a 50k word novel in a month. The official start date is Nov 1st with the goal of being done by the end of the month. I have done it for a couple of years now, and it is a great way to get the first draft of a novel written. If nothing else, it builds great writing habits.  Some people set some pretty lofty goals, like trying to write a novel in one day. To me, that just seems like unneeded stress and chances of having 50k words of garbage to have to go back and heavily edit. Given, you won't have a polished novel doing NANO, but at least a serviceable first draft.  I have a few that I have done, that I am in the process of going back and editing. I hate editing though. I always feel like I should be working on the next project. But, it is part of the process and editing and revision are important to make a book th...
Read more

Plugging Along

 I started National Novel Writing Month strong this year. I hit my word count every day in the first week. But as always, work and life have started to slow me down. I'm still working on writing every day, though I am falling behind on my word count. As of right now, I will be finished with this draft beginning of December. Plus I still have a couple works in progress that I need to work on.  On the upside, I did self-publish one of my first NANO books, " Paradise of the Locusts " this month. You can find it on most ebook providers. It should be available on Amazon Kindle soon. After doing research and getting feedback from people in my writing groups, I think self-publication is the way to go for now. While I still have the dream of traditional publication, I also know that it can be difficult. Finding an agent to take up my work can be trying, as it is also subject to their own personal taste. But, if I self-publish and get some traction, who knows what will happen. The...
Read more

My thoughts on Fuerguson and Beyond

I like many people have been following the case of Micheal Brown, the young man that was shot by Officer Darren Wilson. During the late hours of November 24, 2014 the Missouri grand jury decided not to indite Officer Wilson on several counts including murder down to manslaughter. The evidence that the jury investigated found no cause to put Wilson on trial, as it would appear he acted in self defense. Though my emotions ran high, I at first abstained from commenting on social media about the events for many reasons. However, as the media now is trying to make comparisons to the tragic shooting of a 12-year old boy in Cleveland has made me feel like I need to say my peace; and where else but my blog. lts start with Ferguson. Here is what we know, either from surveillance photos, statements, and forensic evidence (given I am taking some license to create a cohesive narrative).  Mr. Brown and a friend walked into a convenience store where he stole a pack of Swisher Sweet cigars (yes...
Read more