Finding balance
The Balancing Act
June 02, 2008 02:04
The Balancing
Act
by Megan Bostic
It's it possible to find time to write while working, maintaining a household, and attempting some kind of social life? If so, where do you squeeze it in? I don't even work outside the home and still barely find time to jot down a chapter, paragraph, or even a sentence before it slips into my middle-aged, faulty memory abyss. I've had to be extremely creative when it comes to my passion. Here are some ideas for how to squeeze writing into your busy schedule.
Write in the wee hours of the morning
It's your choice as to whether those wee hours include after the family goes to bed, or before they get up. If you're a night owl or insomniac, you might want to try the hours between 11:00 pm and however long you can stay up without your brain turning to complete mush. Personally, I am more of a morning person. I wake at least a couple hours before my children, so after two cups of coffee I can get a good hour of writing accomplished.
Car writing
Now, I don't mean while driving of course, but you probably spend a good amount of time in your car waiting; waiting for your kids at school or practice, waiting in traffic, waiting for the rain to let up just a little so you can walk across the parking lot and into the mall. I carry a briefcase full of notebooks with me just for these moments of peaceful immobilization. I prefer the notebook on these occasions as opposed to the laptop, because by the time you drag your laptop out of the case and turn it on, your writing opportunity might have already passed.
Afternoon writing
Now unless your children are grown and out of the house, this might prove to be a daunting task. I have attempted the after-school, during homework writing, and sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn't. It all depends on how often your child calls out, "Mom/Dad, I need help!" This happens quite often in my home, but if your child is napping or completely self sufficient when it comes to homework, you could get in a paragraph or two.
Coffee/Lunch breaks
This is for students and/or the employed. Find a quiet corner on the grounds, grab your notebook and start writing, time is limited you know. You definitely will want to avoid the office/class gossip. Run into her (or him), and you might as well kiss your writing time goodbye.
After dinner
This may be complicated for some, depending on how much your family or friends rely on your companionship in the evening. For me, it's impossible. This is the time that I spend hanging out with the husband and kids, and I relish it. However, if your spouse is doing their own thing, the kids are playing on the Wii or checking out their myspace page, you may have some time on your hands to do with what you wish. If you pull the laptop out for this one and you're good at multi-tasking, you could even surround yourself with your family and their activities and still pump out a few pages.
Weekends
Saturdays and Sundays are the knight in shining armor for writers. If we've been totally incapable of writing throughout the week, we are normally still able to bleed out at least a few pages, maybe even a chapter or two on the weekends. Stay in your pajamas, grab some coffee, let it flow, you have all day to get everything else done.
So, is it possible to find time to write in the busy, frenzied, sometimes chaotic lifestyle most of us lead these days?
You bet! Squeeze it, cram it, and wedge it in wherever you can. Find those rare moments of wait time, solitude, or reprieve, grab your pen and get to work.
Megan Bostic is a writer of Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult Fiction. She began writing her first novel, Dena Powers: Superhero? about five years ago. Dena Powers: Superhero? made the semifinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. Megan is currently, along with her agent, trying to get published. She has also finished the second book in the series, Dena Powers: The Trouble with Boys, and is about halfway through writing the third. http://www.myspace.com/meganthewriter
by Megan Bostic
It's it possible to find time to write while working, maintaining a household, and attempting some kind of social life? If so, where do you squeeze it in? I don't even work outside the home and still barely find time to jot down a chapter, paragraph, or even a sentence before it slips into my middle-aged, faulty memory abyss. I've had to be extremely creative when it comes to my passion. Here are some ideas for how to squeeze writing into your busy schedule.
Write in the wee hours of the morning
It's your choice as to whether those wee hours include after the family goes to bed, or before they get up. If you're a night owl or insomniac, you might want to try the hours between 11:00 pm and however long you can stay up without your brain turning to complete mush. Personally, I am more of a morning person. I wake at least a couple hours before my children, so after two cups of coffee I can get a good hour of writing accomplished.
Car writing
Now, I don't mean while driving of course, but you probably spend a good amount of time in your car waiting; waiting for your kids at school or practice, waiting in traffic, waiting for the rain to let up just a little so you can walk across the parking lot and into the mall. I carry a briefcase full of notebooks with me just for these moments of peaceful immobilization. I prefer the notebook on these occasions as opposed to the laptop, because by the time you drag your laptop out of the case and turn it on, your writing opportunity might have already passed.
Afternoon writing
Now unless your children are grown and out of the house, this might prove to be a daunting task. I have attempted the after-school, during homework writing, and sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn't. It all depends on how often your child calls out, "Mom/Dad, I need help!" This happens quite often in my home, but if your child is napping or completely self sufficient when it comes to homework, you could get in a paragraph or two.
Coffee/Lunch breaks
This is for students and/or the employed. Find a quiet corner on the grounds, grab your notebook and start writing, time is limited you know. You definitely will want to avoid the office/class gossip. Run into her (or him), and you might as well kiss your writing time goodbye.
After dinner
This may be complicated for some, depending on how much your family or friends rely on your companionship in the evening. For me, it's impossible. This is the time that I spend hanging out with the husband and kids, and I relish it. However, if your spouse is doing their own thing, the kids are playing on the Wii or checking out their myspace page, you may have some time on your hands to do with what you wish. If you pull the laptop out for this one and you're good at multi-tasking, you could even surround yourself with your family and their activities and still pump out a few pages.
Weekends
Saturdays and Sundays are the knight in shining armor for writers. If we've been totally incapable of writing throughout the week, we are normally still able to bleed out at least a few pages, maybe even a chapter or two on the weekends. Stay in your pajamas, grab some coffee, let it flow, you have all day to get everything else done.
So, is it possible to find time to write in the busy, frenzied, sometimes chaotic lifestyle most of us lead these days?
You bet! Squeeze it, cram it, and wedge it in wherever you can. Find those rare moments of wait time, solitude, or reprieve, grab your pen and get to work.
Megan Bostic is a writer of Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult Fiction. She began writing her first novel, Dena Powers: Superhero? about five years ago. Dena Powers: Superhero? made the semifinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. Megan is currently, along with her agent, trying to get published. She has also finished the second book in the series, Dena Powers: The Trouble with Boys, and is about halfway through writing the third. http://www.myspace.com/meganthewriter
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