Keeping it up

So, how do you keep writing? There are times that I feel like no matter how busy I am I have enough time to write. I slip into my stories in five minutes or less and then get back to the real world. Of course I get more done in the thirty to forty-five minute stints, but I seem to be always on. It's still work. I still have to struggle through plot issues or search for the just the right word, but I keep going.

Then there are the other times. The times when writing seems a near impossibility. I struggle to get enough done in every other aspect of my life that when I get a spare moment I just crash. I am doing the same things, but it seems so much more overwhelming.

So what's the difference?

The only thing I've come up with so far stems from a comment made by Dan Wells on Writing Excuses. Please forgive me for not knowing the exact podcast. If you're interested in writing then you'll probably want to listen to the whole archive anyway...but it won't save you time. I think the cast was about writing and working other jobs.

The main idea of the comment was that people who work and write have to do their pre-writing while they're doing their other jobs. For example, I work one of my jobs as  a courier. I can't exactly sit and write while operating a motor vehicle, but I can think about what I'm writing. Or on the drive home from work I start getting my thoughts together to write.

One problem with that is that I get home and I have lunch with my wife and two of my kids and I'm back at square one if I ever get to my computer. That's not so bad because I have to go to sleep right after lunch so I can be up to work my other job. But there's so much in between that I lose track of where to start.

Another problem is that while my brain is supposed to be focused on work, it is working out character problems.

And then there are all the little things that I have to take care of like paying bills, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash...you know the stuff.

I'm not trying to whine, or say my life is terrible. I'm giving an example that you might be able to relate to. There's so much stuff going on in life. It's hard to find time to write. And when we do it's not always easy to do it.

If you can, spend some time pre-writing. Get yourself ready for it so that when you do sit down you're ready. But whatever you do, write. That's what will get you there.

Good luck. If you've got other ideas on how to keep writing leave a comment. I'd appreciate it, and if anyone else is actually reading these posts you might help them too.