So everyone has their own techniques when it comes to making time to write.
Writing is time consuming, that’s a given! So how do you make time to write a novel that’s 70,000 words plus! (That’s a lot of words!)
Some people have daily or weekly writing goals. For example 1000 words a day, that’s 7000 words a week if you stick to it and therefore, ten weeks later, you have 70,000 words! Bish. Bash. Bosh. You just wrote a novel, you clever thing!
But I think we all know it’s not as simple as that….
Life gets in the way! There’s work, social life, reading, house chores, washing (yourself and clothes!) that you have to work around. If we all had empty days to fill with writing then we’d have written a hundred novels! (In a week! – okay maybe not a week but you get the idea)
So how do you go about making time for novels?
I do it like this:
1) I don’t have writing goals for two reasons:
– if I forced myself to write a certain amount a words a day those words, on some days, are just going to be plain terrible and, let’s face it, words for the sake of words!
– some days I am just too damn busy/tired/demotivated to do it!
There are days when I write 0 words and there are days when I write 12,000 (okay so this is my absolute highest record to date – I was mindblowingly inspired this day, like ideas coming out of my face. My actual face.)
But I know that for me to write well I have to be inspired or driven by the need to get to the next part of my novel that I’m super excited about.
2) I like to be alone
As in, I really enjoy alone time (sad I know) but really beneficial for a writer like me! I write my best work when I’m curled up on the sofa on my ipad with no one else but me for company.
I have specific times of the week that I know I’ll be on my own at home and these are the times that I write the most.
I have no real preference over silence or music, it just depends what mood I’m in, sometimes music can really inspire me and other times I just need to throw my ipod out the window and sit in the quiet of my thoughts. This is because different parts of a story require different states of mind. If I have a very emotional moment like something sad or romantic then music is great! I’ll dig through my ipod for songs that evoke these emotions in me and off I go writing.
Other parts of my stories that involve world building or plotlines require deathly silence! I need to really think about this stuff! I’m talking, blank face, gazing into the distance thoughtfully (often in the bath! – I even have a bath tray that my ipad can sit on – I’m really strange aren’t I?)
3) Okay this is the really sad one – saying no to that night at the pub or day at the shops to write (oh the humanity!)
This is a big committment but sometimes you just have to put a pin in your social life. If I’m on a roll with my writing I know I’m gonna get a whole lot written if I turn down that invite.
Now I don’t make a massive habit of this and if I’ve made plans in advance with a friend I’m not gonna cancel on them last minute because of my writing that’s just rude! But I will say no to that last minute invite to the pub OR I’ll go along a bit later, giving me a couple more hours to get some writing done! The fact is, it just has to take priority sometimes!
I hope you enjoyed this post!
Caroline Peckham 