Write Something... - added: Sun, May 17 10:18 AM

As a stay-home mom with 4 kids, I don't find a lot of time to write - and when I get to the end of the day, I'm too tired to write! So what I do is take what opportunities I have to just write something - anything! Not necessarily any of the novels I have currently running through my head or partly finished... But anything at all - journal, ideas for novel(s), perfect sentences that "appear" in my head... I fit those spots in when the kids are watching something, I'm alone for 5 seconds in the bathroom, while I'm watching them play outside (between the "look at me" and making sure they don't get into things, etc. I even have a grease pencil I write on the shower wall with since I find inspiration and the uninterrupted (mostly) time there.

Anyways, my point being: as long as you practice the art of writing in any way each day, you will find the time to compile it into that novel or whatever you're trying to accomplish! Good luck!

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Thanks for great! advice - added: Mon, Oct 13 03:13 PM

I have a routine, intention anyway, that will get 20 minutes of weekday concept and weekend fill-in. I would like to write something that mentors or attracts students to work hard at school so that they qualify for engineering careers, after College...not just memorize but learn how to research and apply skills in grade 10, not wait until middle of College.  I knew from grade 8 that I wanted to get into mechanical drafting...multiple career changes later: metallurgy, Non-Destructive testing, R&D software, technical writing, and currently CNC programming-CAD drawing contracts...sort of full-circle, doing what I enjoy...the challenge....

Thanks again

GT

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Another Suggestion - added: Mon, Oct 13 10:08 AM

If you are looking for a good motivator to push your creative writing skills, you could also check out the '3 Day Novel Writing Contest' that's held every year. I have personally known about it for a few years but have never gotten myself involved because I am always afraid I will not have time (family, two young boys, etc.) which is just me making excuses. There are prizes of being published as well as monetary prizes to help support your future projects. If you would like the link, you can find more info at: www.3daynovel.com

I also know in Canada that there is a magazine published 4 times a year that caters to new and amateur writers called OnSpec: www.onspec.ca but I think it's mostly based on science fiction, horror and the supernatural (which is what I am most interested in). You could do a web search to find local magazines like this for different genres as well.

I personally find that in my hectic household, I just grab whatever time I can get. Although a schedule like 'Challenging Life' recommends would definitely be an excellent idea and I think I will try one as well.

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Here's what I do - added: Mon, Oct 13 08:37 AM

I'm a fiction writer and here's what works for me.  It's very hard for me to set a firm time each day to write because my working schedule is all over the board.  I'm more successful when I set a goal of a certain number of pages or a certain number of words per day.  When I create my to do list each day, I also designate only three of the things on the list as "must do's.  Of course, one of the must do's is my writing goal and I do not do anything else on the list until I've completed those three things.  Think about it, if you complete 3 things a day, you will accomplish over 1,000 things in the course of a year.

Here's something else that I would highly recommend.  November is National Novel Writing Monht.  Join us at  Nanowrimo.org and write 150 pages of anything in the month of November.  It will give you a good kick start.  I've done it for 2 years and have written a complete novel each of the two years.  If you're interested in something like this, you also might want to pick up a copy  of Book In A Month by Victoria Schmidt

Good luck

Best

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