Time to Write
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently, is ‘how did you find the time to write?’
It’s a valid question – and like a lot of people, I have a full-time job, as well as family and other commitments; and writing a book is a long and arduous process that requires large chunks of time.
The answer is – if it means enough to you, then you will find the time.
I know that might sound old-school and a bit psycho-motivational; but it’s absolutely true – some things have to give way for what’s really important – and if you want to get your book written, then you have to find the time.
A book doesn’t write itself, and unlike other hobbies and past-times, writing is a solitary process – they’re your ideas, it’s your story, and the only one who can finish it is you.
I made it a priority – in the main, it was one night a week; where I would focus solely on writing – however long it would take to get done what I wanted to do in that session. I didn’t let myself stop until I was finished. Some pieces came together quickly; others took longer. If I had a few days off work, then I could do a couple of days in a row.
Did it mean I sacrificed work and family, and other important commitments? Not at all.
I did those things and still made time to write, where it could be my sole focus, for as long as I needed in that day or week. Things like TV-time and other things that we can find ourselves caught up in were what I gave up.
Writing a book is like a lot of other things in life, where you put in a lot of hours, striving for a goal – it’s hard, it’s lonely, and there are times when you ask yourself whether it’s worth it – but when you succeed – when you have the hard copy of the book in your hand, and when you hear readers say how much they enjoyed the book – then all the work to get there seems like nothing at all, and you feel on top of the world.
