{"id":188,"date":"2017-05-08T20:54:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T00:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=188"},"modified":"2017-05-08T20:54:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T00:54:19","slug":"finding-time-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/08\/finding-time-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Time to Write"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you aspire to write, you know the dream\u2014quit the day job, write full time, make bucketloads of money doing it.<\/p>\n

Yeah. I\u2019m familiar with that one, too. Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t work that way, at least not for most of us. Even published writers have said to break-out sessions at conferences, \u201cDon\u2019t quit your day job. Not yet.\u201d (Read N.K. Jemisin\u2019s blog post from 5\/24\/16, \u201cTurn and Face the Strange<\/a>,\u201d at http:\/\/nkjemisin.com\/<\/a>; she talks about this, too.) This is a tough business. Every single agent and\/or publisher is looking for that next Big Title, so they want to find you as much as you want to find them. But\u2014and this is huge; pay attention\u2014all of them are slammed with manuscripts from other writers who, like you and me, dream the dream. Every one of their desktops overflow (figuratively speaking) with what\u2019s called a \u201cslush pile,\u201d unsolicited queries and\/or manuscripts sent by hopeful writers looking to break out of the daily grind. It isn\u2019t easy to get and hold an agent\u2019s attention, unless you\u2019re at a writers\u2019 conference or pitch fest and have paid for their time.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s another post.<\/p>\n

What I want to point out here is that writing is apparently a full-time job; that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been told by agents, editors and other writers, and their warnings are consistent with what I\u2019m seeing for myself. An author can\u2019t just write and publish. Not anymore. In this digital age of social media and online networking, you need a social media presence and an Internet platform, especially if your work is non-fiction. That means You. Are. Always. Writing. (At least, I am.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do over the weekend (or vacation, or holiday, or other fill-in-the-blank time), Drema?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote.\u201d Makes for a simpler discussion, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Or how about this one?<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, I\u2019m having a party next Friday, and\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

But you can\u2019t, because you\u2019re on a deadline. Or you\u2019re working on revisions. Or you\u2019re working through a particularly sticky plot point. Or you\u2019ve signed up for a writing conference\/class\/seminar that\u2019s happening that same night. Or Fridays are one of the few times you have uninterrupted writing time.<\/p>\n

I know some of my friends assume I\u2019m avoiding them, or hermitizing. (It\u2019s a word now<\/em>.) But every one of those are actualities, not<\/em> excuses. And if you\u2019re a writer, you know this Truth, up close and personal.<\/p>\n

Because practice makes perfect, or at least better writing, and if you have even a prayer of getting your manuscript read, it had better be the absolute best effort you can produce. That takes time, undivided focus, uninterrupted sessions at the computer, sometimes talking to yourself as you work out dialogue (what, I\u2019m the only one who does that?). For me, everything else becomes secondary when I\u2019m in that Zone. Sometimes I think that when I\u2019m writing, the house could burn down around me and as long as it didn\u2019t cut power or wi-fi, I\u2019d never notice.<\/p>\n

But you have to put it first, after the essentials of self-care, family and paying the bills. It takes some small amount of discipline and sacrifice, and very understanding family and friends. Mystery writer Brad Parks (if you haven\u2019t checked him out, do yourself a favor \u2013 http:\/\/bradparksbooks.com\/<\/a>) said one time at a conference that his mantra is this: BIC HOK TAM, which stands for \u201cButt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly.\u201d I\u2019ve adopted this mindset, myself, and it makes a difference. He also recommended setting a daily word count goal for yourself. BIC HOK TAM your way to your daily goal, then<\/em> go to the party or chat with a friend, or attend an outing with your fellow bird-watchers.<\/p>\n

The point is that if you want to be a writer, you have to commit. For me, that means my trilogy and short stories, my non-fiction book on spirituality that\u2019s been simmering for years, regular blog posts and book reviews, writing classes, critique groups (I only just found one of these), even some poetry now and then. It also means editing, research and editing. (No, that was not a mistake.) It means waking up at 3:00 a.m. with an unbelievable story idea, and making myself get up and write it down. It means listening to that little voice in my head (and gut) that whispers new ideas and twists, warns me when something isn\u2019t working, or points me in the right (write?) direction on research or contacts. That little voice is always there, too, even when I\u2019m trying to sleep. No, especially<\/em> when I\u2019m trying to sleep.<\/p>\n

So yeah, it\u2019s a challenge. But if you want to write\u2014or if you need<\/em> to\u2014you\u2019ll do it and gladly. And those in your life who love you and want you to be happy and succeed at this dream will support you. And the ones who frown and say, \u201cWhy are you always writing? You never spend time with us anymore,\u201d or \u201cWhy is it taking you so long to write this story? I\u2019d have thought you\u2019d be done by now,\u201d yeah. Do your best not to laugh in their faces and carry on with your dream.<\/p>\n

You can do it. And so can I.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you aspire to write, you know the dream\u2014quit the day job, write full time, make bucketloads of money doing it. Yeah. I\u2019m familiar with that one, too. Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t work that way, at least not for most of us. Even published writers have said to break-out sessions at conferences, \u201cDon\u2019t quit your day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-32","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1049,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/17\/the-blissful-pen-confessions-of-people-who-write\/","url_meta":{"origin":188,"position":0},"title":"The Blissful Pen: Confessions of People Who Write","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in the early 80s I took a college class taught by award-winning writer Robert P. Arthur. I remember Bob as a big guy, not just in a physical sense with his tall, broad-shouldered self, but with his overall presence. He filled a room, that man. 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In September of 2021, I attended the Hampton Roads Writers' Conference, where Leslie Penelope gave a keynote presentation wherein she asked, \"What is your 'why'?\" Her words, descriptive of her own journey, made me ask myself the same question.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KindleAndCroissant-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KindleAndCroissant-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KindleAndCroissant-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KindleAndCroissant-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KindleAndCroissant-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KindleAndCroissant-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":620,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/08\/story-endings\/","url_meta":{"origin":188,"position":3},"title":"Story Endings","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"March 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Writers know that the first few lines in a short story or novel are crucial. It is those precious few seconds during which we must grab the reader\u2019s attention and make them want to read more. We spend a great deal of time getting the beginning just right, sometimes going\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/SmudgeEndings-263x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2438,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/17\/the-monster-under-my-desk\/","url_meta":{"origin":188,"position":4},"title":"The Monster Under My Desk","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"December 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Being a writer is scary. What? you say. All you do is sit in front of a computer and type out a story. What's scary about that? It's because of the Monster. 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They work day jobs, raise families, do volunteer work, have a life that requires tending. You know how those everyday pressures are sometimes enough in and of themselves to make you want to scream. 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