Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Writing Conferences and Making Time For Writing


It's a nice idea to write a book, but the time it takes makes it a huge commitment. Carving out that time is a big deal to me. It means sacrificing time that could otherwise be spent with  my family. For example, in the process of writing this post I've: Put Grace down for a nap, broken up two fights, put Josh in a time out, cleaned up a mess in my mom's kitchen and told the kids to quiet down at least a dozen times. I should probably be out there with my kids instead of in here blogging. 

Which brings me to my next point. Prioritizing. I like writing, but it's probably not the most important thing I will ever do with myself. My family sits in first place on that list, which means that there are times when I want to write, but I have to do family stuff instead. (That might be where a lot of my angst comes from). I'm not good at using my time wisely, but with each writing conference I attend, I learn little tricks and gain inspiration from cool people who are making it happen.

For example, at CONduit Graham told me a handy little trick he has with 3x5 cards that he uses for outlining that I am fully going to use.

Bottom line, I write when I can and sometimes when I shouldn't.

What about you guys? What works and doesn't work? How do you prioritize?

S.T.

5 comments:

  1. That novel I haven't written? Yeah, that's how my prioritizing goes. It's hard when things like HOME and FAMILY get in the way of my future career as a best selling novelist:) Oh well, one day...one day.

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  2. I cite the above comment and the original post as the two biggest reasons why I'm okay with not being married. Doesn't mean I wanted it to happen this way, just that I'm making the most of it in the meantime :-)

    As for prioritizing, well, you two do have your priorities straight: home and family. Then Church callings, then writing. What do you do with a priority that ranks third or fourth on your list? Easy: after you're done taking care of 1 and 2, you stay up an hour every night or get up an hour early every day, turn off your phone, lock yourself at the desk/computer/typewriter/etc, and crank it out. That is your invincible time. Phone calls are not priority compared to writing!

    And yes, unless you absolutely know yourself well enough to be a "discovery writer", OUTLINE, OUTLINE AND OUTLINE!!!! Not an option! :-D

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  3. hmmm

    My priorities lately have been "feeling sorry for myself" "You can conquer this" and not much room for anything else. But I am loving writing. . .

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  4. Writing is very theraputic. I have set aside the time I should be exercising to write because I am unwilling to give up sleep. Thus, I will continue to keep the baby weight from my first child four years ago, but hope to give birth to a novel.

    Tart, obviously family comes first, but you have to have some "me" time in the day to stay sane. Even if you only write for 15 mins., you're making progress.

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  5. Ok, I spelled therapeutic wrong. Am I fired?

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