Making Time to Write

The writing process, writing advice, and updates on your work in progress
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polymath
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Re: Making Time to Write

Post by polymath » May 31st, 2011, 10:27 pm

Making time to write isn't a consideration for me. Sure, there are lots of complications that keep me from doing what I want to do when I want to do it. But writing isn't one that depends on making time. Most of my writing is by mental composition.

My waking day, the quiet moments before I pass out mentally exhausted, my dream laden night, my waking dream morning, while engaged in other activities that don't demand my full attention, I'm mentallly composing, testing, evaluating, processing an inspiration to see if it's packageable. I compose sketches, sentences, subtext meanings, conversations, thoughts, scenes' emotions, sensations, and actions. I mentally outline the purposes of scenes, their thematic relevance, their reversals and discoveries. Whatever.

My writing is mostly mental composition, all but setting it into type, by which time I'm fairly certain of the narrative shape and progression. Then the real heavy lifting work begins, welding, forging, hammering, and filing it into a finished product.
Last edited by polymath on June 1st, 2011, 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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medussa74
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Re: Making Time to Write

Post by medussa74 » June 1st, 2011, 12:16 pm

Oh, if we count the time we're thinking about our stories and not just putting words to paper (or computer screen), then I'm always writing. Any fragment of time I'm not actively involved with something else, I'm thinking about my story. I couldn't stop if I wanted. The few times in my life I didn't allow myself to daydream are pretty dark chapters in my own life. If anything, I write to keep these images from imploding my brain. I find it helps too. I get very annoyed if I go too long without writing, especially at myself when I think of the writing time I waste by surfing or getting sucked into tv.

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Re: Making Time to Write

Post by Chantelle.S. » June 1st, 2011, 10:46 pm

I've tried the whole deadline thing and it only worked for me once, and it only worked because I had my partner supporting my crazy decision to rewrite my novel in 30 days.

The only other time I've managed to get some decent writing done is during Nanowrimo. It's the only time of the year when I can write at the table during supper, write while my hubby is watching TV at night, write for another hour two after he's gone to bed, and NOT feel guilty about it, because he keeps asking me for a daily report on how many words I've got done. It's easier when your family understands and supports your writing.

I've been trying to find a way to schedule in some good writing time, but there just isn't any and it all depends on my kids. If my 2 year old isn't going to nap when I go make myself comfortable in the foodcourt after dropping my 4 year old off at kindy, then there's no way I'm going to get decent time to write. When he's awake, I'll be lucky to have 25 minutes (or less) to write while he's preoccupied with munching down his lunch. Sometimes I'll keep him quiet and seated for a while longer by getting him something from McD's to keep him busy, but I'm not rich and I can't afford to spend $5 every day of the working week. Plus my mother would have a fit if she knew I was distracting him that way to get my writing done. So would my hubby, I think. That's all time I have during the day to write, and to be honest, it's not enough to write anything decent, so I tend to dot down notes, plot bunnies, or TRY to write down whatever scene might have been plaguing me.

I can't write at night either. My hubby gets home sometime between 6-7pm, then it's time for me to wrestle the kids into bed, and after that it's couple time so we'll either watch our TV shows, or end up watching a movie together, which really isn't actual quality couple time so I can't just get up off the couch and tell him 'okay, I'm going to go work on my novel now, see you in the morning!' Well, I could, but my conscience would murder my muse and I'd end up dragging myself back upstairs to the lounge after staring guiltily at the blank computer screen for ten minutes. And by the time he's tired enough to want to go to bed, it's past 11pm already, and I have to get up at 6.30 am and contend with two little hypers all day by myself, so it's not going to work. I get no breaks :(

Although I'm hoping that changes when my mother in-law comes over in the next fortnight. She'll be here for a few months, so I hope I can squeeze the most writing out of it while she keeps an eye on the kids for me.
"Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s." -Stephen King

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Rebecca Kiel
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Re: Making Time to Write

Post by Rebecca Kiel » June 2nd, 2011, 11:29 am

I am in the "write whenever I can" camp. While this usually happens at night after the kids are asleep, I definitely grab moments here and there to jot notes. I dream of having a regular schedule. until then, my schedule is "anytime"!


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