Lately, when it comes to managing my time so I can write, I feel like the narrator in Patrick F. McManus’s story “Controlling My Life” from the book Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink!
“I just read a book on how to get control of my time and therefore of my life. My time has always had a tendency to slip away from me and do as it pleases. My life follows it, like a puppy after an untrained bird dog. Come night, my life shows up, usually covered with mud and full of stickers, exhausted by grinning happily. My time never returns.”
Here are two different views on how to schedule time to write. The first post is about “binge writing”, setting aside a large block of time to get a lot written in one session. The second advises setting a small daily goal and writing every day.
I know I am not a binge writer. I like variety in my life. So doing an hour or two a day while the kids are at school is perfect for me. But I haven’t been able to find that hour or two with all the demands of running my home and taking care of my kids and husband, whose job is demanding and has irregular hours.
While I have been able to keep up on my blog, I haven’t found the time to revise my first novel or make much headway on a new one.
So I am interested in other people’s writing schedules. How do you find time to do the writing you must do and the writing you want to do?
It sounds like we’re in the same boat, especially as my site’s name is becoming a misnomer- the kids are giving up naps and I’m loosing my writing time ack!
One thing that helped me with revisions on my first novel was getting beta readers- specific feedback on what to work on kept me on task. As far as the second…well, if you figure out a schedule that works well, let me know lol.