I am pleased to invite Rebecca Graf, author of Deep Connections to guest post here on Acting Balanced!
The Key to Planning Your Writing Time
To be honest, you have to want to write to find the time. You have to desire it. You have to be unable to live without it. If you want something bad enough, you’ll make the time to enjoy it and experience it.
Nothing just falls in your lap. A writer has to make the time. They will get up in the morning before they have to just to get a paragraph or a few pages done. Sleep will be sacrificed if they really want to write.
A writer is willing to take their lunch hour from their full-time job to write. They will not miss a moment to get a few words down or thoughts about a scene or plot. It is not uncommon for them to be making notes on their latest novel as they sit in a business meeting if the muse decides to talk to them.
Staying up late is not uncommon. A writer has to get a scene down or worked out. It becomes a driving passion that will make the author mad if ignored.
For me, I make goals. A lot depends on, of course, if my muse is active or not. There are some days when my muse is quiet and the creative spirit doesn’t stir. Those are days that if I tried to write the result is complete garbage that needs to be thrown away. If I wait until the muse speaks, I have something to work with.
Then I strive to make my goals. I sat them small at first at a hundred words. When I wrote my hundred words, I’d feel so good. Then I got to where I could easily write five hundred. Now, I set my goal to a thousand words in the morning and a thousand words at night. It sounds like a lot, but it can be done.
What I have found is that I have to have quiet to write which means I have to deliberately get up early or wait until the kids leave for school. That can be a challenge when I sleep too late to write before they get up and a scene is beating at my brains trying to get out. I find myself thinking of how to word things as I make their breakfast. That muse can be so frustrating.
A writer writes at any moment of the day and whenever they get a chance.
About Rebecca Graf:
Rebecca Graf is a wife and mother of three when she is not writing. From writing online for various companies to book reviews to her own novels, Rebecca spends most of her days reading and writing.
She worked as an accountant for 20 years before taking a chance and trying to make it as a writer. She has been published on sites such as BellaOnline.com, HubPages, and Natural Family Today. She also freelances where she writes for several different companies.
She is an avid reader and has found a love of writing all types of genres. She self-published her first children’s book, A Gift for a Mouse two years ago. Since then, she has started her own publishing company with a friend. Deep Connections is their first publication.
You can find out more about the book and Rebecca by checking out her website: www.rebeccagraf.com, Twitter: @rebeccagraf and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RebbecaGraf
