Do you have trouble even finding time to think about writing? I know I do. I am a wife and homeschooling mom of three children. I make quilts to sell and I also work outside of the home part time in the evenings. My true love as far as a career though is writing. I have been writing since I was a child. I wanted to be just like my mom when I grew up, so I would sit at the dining room table and peck away at her typewriter making up stories. Now, however, there are many more activities besides those already mentioned that keep me from pecking away. There are all the things at church we are involved in, a weekly homeschool group not to mention all the usual activities surrounding a household that often keep me from my writing.
             
Another problem I had was that I kept my writing a secret for a long time, until a close friend revealed a secret of her own. She liked to write as well!  I thought that was exactly what I needed. I needed someone to write with, someone who would encourage me and someone who would ask on a regular basis, “Have you written anything new lately?” I figured a little accountability wouldn’t hurt me. After a little more conversation we discovered a third mutual friend that also liked to write. The possibilities were becoming exciting!             
 
We started our own little writing group. Since I was the only one of us three who had actual writing experience, they asked if I would be their writing mentor and help them learn the ropes about sending things out to be published.
 
We decided to get together every other week, (Not too often because we are all busy and we didn’t
want our writing to become a chore.) We would each take a turn being hostess and fix lunch
for the others. And then we would spend a few hours just writing. 

We didn’t stop this arrangement even if the kids happened to be home from school on vacation. Over the summers we would all pack our own picnic lunches and meet at a park or a pool so the kids
could have their own fun and entertain each other and we could work, for the most part,  undisturbed. 
              
This is a system that works well for the three of us. However, we have had to set a chat time limit so that we can get busy doing what we all have so little time to do. It’s what we love to do, we write.             
 
Here are a few other ideas to help you find time to write. My life has only gotten busier and I relish those moments when I can jot down even just an idea for a future project.  A lot of these ideas may not seem like much, but you will be surprised at how much you can get done in those little bits of time. 

1 – Keep a notebook and pen in your car. How many times are you sitting in the drive through, either at the bank or a fast food restaurant, and wishing you had something to write with? Keep one on-going project in the car and work on it paragraph by paragraph. It won’t be long before you have a whole chapter or a whole article.

2 – Plan to stay at the repair shop. Everyone has to get the oil changed in his or her car once in a while. Don’t drop off your car. Wait for it. It might take an hour or two, but when was the last time you found an hour or two where no one needed you for anything?

3 – Give yourself an extra thirty minutes. Leave for work early and just sit in your car with your coffee and a notebook. There will be no disturbances. If you already get to work very early in the morning, sit in your car for thirty minutes after work. Your family will get used to your schedule and will learn to adjust. 

4 – Hide in your bedroom one night a week. That’s how my mom did all of her writing. After dinner one night every week she would go to her bedroom and close the door. Dad was in charge and none of us kids were to disturb her. She was able to write a novel on this schedule. The result was her Civil War novel Victory Song.

5 – Get up early on Saturday morning. I know this is the only day for many of us to sleep in. I knew of one writer whose work schedule got her up at about 4:00am. She found it hard to sleep much past five. She got up and while her daughters were still sleeping, she managed to write a children’s picture book. She knew she had at least an hour or two before the girls were up and wanting breakfast so she took advantage of it.

6 – Skip that television show. I mean, really, how much TV do we need to watch anyway?   
 
I hope some of these ideas will help you find some time to write. There is always time, if we just
know where to look. Happy writing!

We’re halfway through the first month of the year. What have you accomplished? Most writers have multiple projects going at any given time. Each of these projects are at different stages of development. Some have just begun while others are so close to being completed you can almost taste it.

The problem for many writers comes when those almost completed projects don’t get finished but new ideas get started.

How can you divvy up your time to make sure that each writing project gets completed and in a reasonable amount of time without missing out on huge opportunities that may arise?

Organize and prioritize will be, or at least should be, two of your favorite words.

Organize yourself by:

1.  Writing down all the projects you are working on. Don’t worry bout putting them in any certain order at this point.

2.  Start a new notebook, or computer file, for each of these projects. Add any notes or ideas for each project in the appropriate notebook or folder. Whenever you think of something new put it in the right place. This helps to prepare you for when this project makes it to the top of the list. It also allows your mind to work, knowing you can always add to your notes.

Prioritized by:

 1. Purchase a calendar. Purchase one that has all holidays listed and has squares that are plenty big enough for you to write it. You can also create a calendar on your computer, but a physical calendar is always in view and will help you keep on track.

2. Think about your projects. Do some have deadlines? Do you want some things to correspond with a specific time of the year? Schedule these projects first.

3. Create project deadlines. Add these deadlines to your calendar. Update specific projects first. For example if you are writing a Christmas novel you may want to have it completed by July at the
latest.

4. Fill your calendar with the rest of your projects that are not date specific. These are projects you're working on, but are not in any particular hurry to finish.

5. Work on each project in its turn. By taking one project at a time and focusing your energy on that, one at a time you can accomplish  and complete many writing projects you’ve been wanting to finish.

Tips:

For articles check and see when the publication needs pieces by. Some publications need seasonal articles a year or more in advance. Others only require a six month lead time.

Make theme list deadlines on the calendar as well. You may want to mark the deadlines a couple of weeks ahead of time to make sure you don’t neglect to send something you were working on.

Update your calendar as often as necessary. For example, when a publication sends you a new theme list make sure to add those dates to your writing schedule.


By organizing and prioritizing you can be more productive than ever this year.