Writing Schedule Interruptis
My sister Marty, a fantastic grant writer and development professional, recently retired and has embarked on writing a memoir (which I can’t wait to read!). Recently, she asked me questions about my life as a working writer:
- Do I put myself on a writing schedule? Yes
- Do I have a preferred time of day to write? Yes—I’ve found I’m most productive in the morning and early afternoon hours.
- Do I write every day? Well…
Scene of the Crime: My Home Office
It’s that last question that’s a bit complicated to answer. When I finally stopped teaching, I had visions of myself happily sitting in my home office doing nothing other than… well, writing. And sometimes that’s what I’m doing. This past week, I got some good writing time in on my new project, a YA novel tentatively called Missing Mom.
The coming week, however, includes a whole mess of writing-related tasks, all of which are important, but are not writing! My writer’s group meets on Tuesday, and I need to critique two submissions. Then there’s the Wednesday board meeting of Derby Rotten Scoundrels, my local chapter of Sisters in Crime (I’m the president). Meantime, I have two workshops to prepare that I’m giving at the Heartland Book Festival this weekend, one on Friday for students on “Cooking Up a Mystery” and one on Saturday for adults on “Writing YA Fiction.” And did I mention that this morning, I learned that a dear writer friend desperately needs a blurb from me (this week!) for her about-to-be published mystery?
I haven’t even brought up that I really should be doing some social media to promote my new novel, Deadly Setup. And the deadline for submitting materials about Deadly Setup and Leisha’s Song to BookStop, SCBWI’s holiday site for shoppers who like to give books to young people, is rapidly approaching.
Needless to say, it’s going to be a challenge to get much writing done this coming week. Which is why I called this blog “Writing Schedule Interruptis” and why I squirm a little when folks ask me if I’m a “fulltime writer.” The thing is, being a fulltime writer sometimes involves a bunch of stuff in addition to doing the actual writing. Which is why the most honest answer I can give in response to the question of whether I write every day is “I try”!
I’m amazed at how well you write, whether it’s fiction or a personal reflection via a blog like this one. That said, as a human being, I can only imagine that you can’t write every day; and I think it helps those of us who are not published authors know that there’s much more to this profession that writing! I look forward to reading many more of your creations in the months and years to come.
Thanks so much!
I think we all feel his way, Lynn. I haven’t gotten as much promotion done as I’d like because I have outside-of-writing activities that take up my time. At the beginning of each month, I look at my calendar and think, “Not bad. I’ll get more writing done this month.” Then, little by little, the whole month fills up with things I have to do. I thought when I retired, like you, I’d have lots of time to write, but some days I feel like I’m working harder in my retirement years. So, you’re not alone.
Thanks, Susan– Somehow, it’s reassuring to know I’m not alone!
I call that writing-related work that’s not actual book writing my homework.
A great way to look at it, Marilyn! Thanks!