Time management

Discussion in 'General Writing' started by Writer's Coin, Jun 4, 2008.

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  1. Rumple

    Rumple Member

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    We have all had this thought in our head at some point. "Ugh, there no time for me to write, I'll get to it tomorrow." Or "I'm too tired." I have said that to myself on plenty occasions. You are normal.

    I am awake anywhere from eighteen to twenty hours a day. I live an hour away from my work, without traffic add an extra half an hour with traffic. I wake up two hours early to get ready feed the dogs and let them out, maybe make breakfast for myself If I can find the time, which usually I just grab something easy on my way out the door. Guess what I still write. How, you ask?

    We live in a very technology driven world, why don't we capitalize on what's available to us? If I do not have time to brew a fresh pot of coffee and slurp it down while I login to my computer to finger mash buttons because I had a good dream that gave me inspiration, I still can capture that down. Do you ever get a great idea or inspiration but always seem to be driving and can't copy it down?

    There are plenty of apps or for iPhone users just use your notepad and microphone. It's like a push to speak and it will record your words. The punctuation isn't there at all but it is still copied down for you for later.

    I live to write, I can be whoever, whatever, and go wherever.

    You have time to watch TV, search the tube for hours watching videos, and or scrolling down social media sites. You have time for that but not to write?

    You have writer block focus on something else write a short a poem a comic, push past your comfort zone to be a writer who is truly well rounded you need to practice this is a passion, but if you wish to make it a profession you will find time to practice, instead of liking a post about how crappy Stacy's life is with all her kids, her deadbeat husband, and the fact she just had her second divorce WRITE!

    Even if it's on a notepad you carry with you in between emails or conference calls at work, or even on your lunch break, jot some stuff down because a year worth of that is better than a year worth of excuses.

    Happy writing everyone.
     
  2. Zoe Jackson

    Zoe Jackson New Member

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    So true. I'm currently not working but I have two very young children who are still very dependent on me and I feel like I never have time to write. I've found myself sometimes feeding one whilst scribbling on a colouring page of my daughters with her glitter pen with my free hand, but it doesn't matter when or what I write on, I'm writing and that's all that matters.
     
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  3. JE Loddon

    JE Loddon Active Member

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    Back when I used to write for a film website, I used to write articles on my phone. Not a smartphone, I mean typing it out on the keypad as text messages. Thankfully, technology has moved on, and we can use every opportunity to put some words down. I use Scrivener to write, and they have an app which syncs between my ipod and my laptop, so I can always be writing in the current file.
     
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  4. Rumple

    Rumple Member

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    A friend of mine uses that as well he likes it a lot for not being formal like Microsoft Office. I always try to write something because in today's busy hectic society it's very easy to forget a good idea or something you want to add into a current work in progress.
     
  5. FutaMuffin

    FutaMuffin New Member

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    Indeed, I try and write something every day. Even if it's just a few paragraphs scribbled onto a folded piece of A4 paper.
    One of the best gadgets I've invested in is a Kindle Fire with no books on it, simply because the documents app is handy for working on my stories at work. Thankfully there is no public wi-fi connection where I work, so I'm not easily distracted by the internet and allows me to proofread, compose or even just brainstorm over a lunch break. Sometimes I get really lucky and end up watching integrity testing which means sitting on my arse for anywhere between 4-8 hours a shift.
     
  6. JE Loddon

    JE Loddon Active Member

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    Back when I used to work in a full-time office job, I'd have periods where I was doing work that required no concentration at all. I'd effectively write books in my head. Later on, I'd jot down some of the ideas I'd had. Now, I'm reaping the benefit, as I have at least a dozen fairly well puzzled out concepts for novels that I'm currently drawing on.
     
  7. Rumple

    Rumple Member

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    That's awesome! I sometimes even think of something when I'm out on the town to add into a piece in the works. You never know where you will or who you will get inspiration from.
     
  8. Orihalcon

    Orihalcon Senior Member

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    On the bus home tonight from a symphony concert I decided to start writing something new on my phone. I think the page I wrote is some of the best stuff I've ever written. I've just now came back to writing after several years without it.

    When I wake up tomorrow I will be rethinking my assumption that I can write only when I'm at home in front of my computer.
     
  9. blueshogun96

    blueshogun96 Member

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    Not sure how often this becomes a topic around here, but I thought I'd go ahead and throw it out there and see what responses or insights I might get...

    I assume that many of you have your day job/careers that take up much of your day, and maybe even married with children (which is a whole other set of joys that I am glad to say that I have not experienced, haha). So if this and several other things apply to you, how do you find time to work on your stories? When I started writing my current masterpiece, Abroad, I was laid off as a contract employee. Therefore, since I didn't have the daily grind of work, I worked on my novel in much of my spare time. Sometimes I'd lose track of time, and stay up until 7:00am writing! Yes, I was quite absorbed into this story, and wanted to write as much as possible before a) I found a new job and b) before the inspiration faded out.

    Now that I work 40 hours again, the time to dedicate to writing my novel has dwindled. Although I have a software engineering position that has a flexible schedule, sometimes when I get home I just feel like sleeping and nothing else. Since I take the bus to work, I can usually just write my novel while on my Macbook. Commute time is an hour each way, but for me, that's not a significant amount of time to be writing. Of course, it's better than no time. Along side of writing, I do have another hobby (which I might dedicate a new thread to in the future) so writing is just one of many interests here.

    So, how do you all find or allocate time in order to finish your novel before the decrescendo of inspiration fades off into the pianissimo stages? I've had this happen before, and I don't want it to happen again. Currently I estimate my initial rough draft to be 66% completed, and I still would like to see my novel published in some form or another.

    Thank you all in advance for your feedback. By all means, please share what works for you!

    Shogun
     
  10. Dr.Meow

    Dr.Meow Contributor Contributor

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    I've been on both ends of the spectrum. At one time I worked 80 hours a week (self employed, and making some good money), at another time I was very much unemployed. Don't ask how you go from one to the other, you don't want to know. If I was still doing 80 hour weeks, I probably would not have any time for writing. However, a 40 hour work week means you still have another 40 hours at least to sit down and write. No, there's no time for much else if that's what you want to do, but if you truly wish to write, believe me, you'll be finding every spare moment you have to write. I often wish I'd kept up writing even when I did work such long weeks, at least I'd be furthering a secondary line of possibility. It's all about what is more important to you though, no one can tell you what you want.
     
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  11. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    What can you give up?

    When I first started writing, I gave up TV. That freed up an hour or two each day for writing.

    When I started making money from writing, I gave up mowing the lawn and other household chores (I'd already had a cleaning lady, but if I hadn't I could have given up cleaning, too). I can pay people to do that stuff and use the time for writing.

    So what can you give up?

    And what can you double up on? If you're exercising, you can give yourself a story challenge to struggle with while you're exercising. If you're walking the dog, commuting, or whatever else, you can think about your writing while you do it. Maybe you can't get actual words down, but if you know what you're going to write it doesn't take long to do the actual typing.
     
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  12. Stormsong07

    Stormsong07 Contributor Contributor

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    I cheat. I write at work. I'm a corrections officer, so much of my work day is spent at an officer station, supervising a housing unit. I have to get up every 15 minutes to do security rounds, and of course handle (usually) minor issues and other duties, but for the most part, it allows me time to pull up my WIP in Word and write. At the end of the day, I email it to myself so I have the most recent draft saved.
    I have two little boys at home who demand most of my attention, so not much gets done there. I had to figure something out, or I would never get to write. So, here I am. Writing at work, lol.
     
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  13. sprirj

    sprirj Senior Member

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    Yeah, I don't have time. :D

    I just let the ideas fill my head over several weeks, months, until I'm ready to explode and then, I have a splurge of lovely passionate writing, and then it gets shelved for a bit.

    I'm writing because I enjoy it, and if that means my book takes 40 years, so be it.

    I can't stop, stop. I have an itch.
     
  14. joe sixpak

    joe sixpak Banned

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    priorities!

    we all have the same 24 hours
    some of us have to sleep more, others less
    some commute a long way, some work at home

    if anything is truly important then people find time to do it
    others choose to work longer and harder at the day job and stay employed and get promoted
    some move to a cardboard box and spend days in the library writing
    and in between are many other options

    you have to figure out what is best for you
    if you can piece together those little bits of wasted time then you can write anyway


     
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  15. blueshogun96

    blueshogun96 Member

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    I don't watch TV to be frank. They don't call it the "idiot box" for nothing these days. So that's a great deal of time not being wasted.

    One thing I could give up is chatting on discord so frequently. That is something I do a little too much lately. Another thing that I need to give up is drinking. Lately I've been drinking far too much and I believe it would be best to stop completely at this point, minus a glass of wine with dinner during the holidays with family members. My other primary endeavour, coding, I cannot completely give up, but set aside a bit of time from it to get more written.

    And you are indeed right about one thing, it's easier to get your novel written when you already know what to write. Sometimes I get hung up on what to write next, or have several people demanding my attention every given day. So I think I'll spend more time tonight on this novel, although I'm meeting a friend for Thai tonight.

    This is what I would normally do. Since I am a software engineer, the job often entails a degree of freedom that many others don't sometimes. Flex hours, take as much time for lunch as needed, etc. Although this is my first week on the job, and I haven't had any down time, as I have been working non-stop almost. Ramping up takes up nearly every ounce of free moments I could use to write. This won't last forever, as things will eventually ease up. But emailing myself some ideas and what not is not a bad idea. I think I'll try that, especially since I keep my drafts backed up on my Macs (and I can't access cloud storage websites at work due to the nature of what I do and the great security measures involved).

    But indeed, it's all about being clever with those brief openings and efficient with what little downtime you can find. I'd like to find other things that I can cut or optimize until I can finally finish this novel.

    Shogun
     
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  16. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    I have no excuse. <gets off the internet>
     
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  17. Alex R. Encomienda

    Alex R. Encomienda Contributor Contributor

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    I've been unemployed this year but last year I was going to school for a PTT program. I gave up television, social interactions, outdoors, shopping and sometimes even eating just to finish up editing/writing what I needed to write.

    I'm also an extreme introvert. I don't have any friends, significant others or any of that. I basically live my life in isolation but it's a good isolation. I am very religious so I do spend a lot of time reading the bible but other than that I don't let anything get in the way of my writing. I have very ambitious goals for myself that I must meet. I won't feel right knowing I'm straying from writing.
     
  18. badgerjelly

    badgerjelly Contributor Contributor

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    Prioritise.

    If you are working too much to write change your job. If you cannot do so, for whatever reasons, then other things are a greater priority in your life than writing your novel.

    Why do you want to write this novel? How important is it to you? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to complete it?

    Also, having less time to write can help you to write better. Schedule time to write. Set workable goals.
     
  19. nastyjman

    nastyjman Senior Member

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    I get home from work at around 7:30. I dedicate 2 hours for writing. My husband knows it's sacred time, so he doesn't bother me. Once I hit my writing quota, then I'm free to do whatever.

    Weekends I dedicate three hours to writing. I do it before lunch or before any plans for leisure and play.

    I do have off days. Wednesday and Friday. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

    As for inspiration, I don't let it control my writing. I agree with Neil Gaiman who said, "If you're only going to write when you're inspired, you may be a fairly decent poet, but you will never be a novelist."

    Inspiration is only relevant in the conception phase. When it comes to actually sitting down, writing it down and editing the crap out of it, that takes passion and hard work.
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2017
  20. anitaex100

    anitaex100 Member

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    I'm hoping I don't make too many mistakes in this post. It's way past my bedtime, but since I can't sleep I thought I would ask this question. I remember reading an article years ago on a blog about how a writer asked her teacher if she had what it took to be a writer. For the life of me, I can't remember the author's name or the blog, but her teacher said something inspiring, and she went home more determined than ever. She started reading something like three hours a day and writing three hours a day. I remember thinking now that's dedication. I barely have time for an hour, but I managed to increase it to two hours every day, so I spend about an hour and a half reading and thirty minutes for writing. My question is how long do you guys spend on your craft and have you notice any changes?
     
  21. Night Herald

    Night Herald The Fool Contributor

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    My reading and writing habits are both incredibly sporadic. Right now they are as follows.

    Reading.

    The short answer: not nearly enough.

    Periods do occur when I've got a book welded to my hands, but it's a long time since that's happened. Right now, I take the time to read a chapter a night, if that. It's a mixture of not having anything new and exciting to read, and just being stressed out and not really in a reading mood. I wish it wasn't so, but it is. Plus, most of my books are still boxed up after moving, and I think I'll keep it that way since I'll be moving again within a couple of weeks.
    I tend to be much more passionate about the craft (that is, about words and the far-flung, wondrous planes of the imagination and the novel ways in which they interact to form stories) when I'm liquefied and poured into a spellbinding narrative moist with grandiose prose, and just itching to write; but, and this is bitterly ironic, I'm generally too busy reading to act on this inspiration. Whoa, that turned out pretty purple.

    Writing.
    The short answer: enough(ish), but more would be better.

    Since returning to these forums, I've knocked out a handful of short stories that I'm pretty pleased with. I never really used to write shorts, but I've fallen in love with the form. My novel, on the other hand, has been pretty stagnant of late. It's a mess. I've produced a couple of decent scenes these last few months, and that's it. I don't write every day, but when I do I generally go at it for hours at a time. That, or I just fiddle with a paragraph for 15 minutes, before I put it back the way it was and go play video games. At least I'm writing something, which is not always the case. It used to be I could go for weeks without writing anything worth the kilobytes it occupies on my hard drive. I'm in a good place now, as far as writing goes, but I could stand to read more. I just need to find the right book, I guess.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2017
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  22. Alex R. Encomienda

    Alex R. Encomienda Contributor Contributor

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    I usually read and write at night when I'm all done with my meals and drinks.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2017
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  23. Cristina G

    Cristina G New Member

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    Hello. For me it's different as I would like to make a living from writing. I started quite late in my existence. When I took the decision to write, I dedicated absolutely everything into pursuing this. So when I am not at work, I am in bed writing. I even reduced my working hours to the minimum that allows me to pay the bills. Four days a week I write. I gave up everything else. I don't watch TV, listen to the radio, go out with friends. I just write. The only other activities I do is sleeping and studying English. However, I believe it's different for me as I don't write only for a living, but for a life really. I wouldn't be alive if I didn't write. It's no exaggeration. For now, I don't earn money, I just spend everything I have saved to publish my work. But I am alive and that what matters most. If you write because you like to write (as I used to), I believe no one should feel guilty if they don't stick with the plan. We should all do what makes us feel happy. But it's hard.
     
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  24. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    I generally write about two hours a night (starting my new job meant I hardly wrote for a couple of weeks but i'm back to it now), I used to read loads but since i started writing my novels I don't read much unless its an alpha /beta read for fellow writers.
     
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  25. DeadMoon

    DeadMoon The light side of the dark side Contributor

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    More and more I find myself reading and writing more and watching pointless you tube vidoes less. I always read before bed and during breaks at my job.
     
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