With a full time job, a six month old, two dogs, and one (very patient) wife, it takes effort to make time for writing. For instance, I wrote that intro line and then had to run off as the lil’one woke up from a nap. Now, I’m back. Ooops, dirty diaper. Be right with you. Ok. Here I am. Oh wait, the dogs need to get walked. Work calls. Dinner…You get the idea, and it’s not unique. How many of our lives are such that we have half-day chunks of time to write anymore? Three hours? An hour?!

I won’t lie that I was very nervous about being able write post-kids. But here’s the thing: in the last three months I finished a 60+ thousand word first draft...which was faster than other manuscripts I’ve written. Surprisingly, it wasn’t because they added more hours to the day (though whichever candidate wants to propose that amendment will get my vote).

Here's a handful of tricks I've used that seem to squeeze minutes from the day:

Set a reasonable, specific goal: This point has been made a million different ways. We are much more efficient and focused when we have something obtainable to achieve. The key is that this goal has to be specific (for example, write 1000 words) and within reach (most people can’t pound out 8k words in a weekend, Talia ;). Most authors use word or page counts, but it could be finishing a scene or threading in a new theme to your manuscript. 

Note: There were days that I didn’t make my goal of 1200 words per day. That’s okay. I forgave myself and moved on to the next day.
 Another note: Be careful with word counts. The end goal for any author is a good story. If you’re short 200 words, but wrote a killer scene, be happy. There’ve been times that my obsession with the little goal consumed what I was really after: good writing and enjoyment of that process.

Get up/stay up five minutes: I started setting my alarm five minutes earlier on a Monday. I mean, five minutes is nothing, right? Tuesday, I set it another five minutes earlier than Monday. Wednesday five more than Tuesday, etc. By the following Monday, I had squeezed another 35 minutes extra to write each day. Eventually, I created a routine where I get up at 4:50AM and write for a good 60 to 90 minutes before the household gets too busy. I imagine this works the same for those night owls by going to bed five minutes later than the night before.

Try it for five: Even with my extra time in the morning, there are nights where I need to write if I want to hit my goal. These moments are always hard. The TV is on the wall, the book is on the nightstand, the bed is warm, and the couch cozy. In those instances, I make a deal with myself: I’ll work for five minutes. After that time, if it isn’t flowing…couch, here I come. A majority of the time, breaking the seal is all it takes. An hour later, I've met or exceeded my goal. There are times where I stop at five without a shred of guilt (ok, not much), because at least I tried.

Plan it out: Before writing, I take the dogs on a quick walk. While I’m out, I plan. However, I’m NOT imagining the final showdown or future sequels, but rather, exactly what I’m going to do when I sit at my keyboard. What’s the next line? Action? Thought? I used to do this with the screen glaring at me, but now I just get the juices flowing while multitasking.

Writing time is writing time: By now, this has been beat into your head, but Facebook, email, Twitter, blogs (except the Muses J) will corrode this sacred writing time until there’s nothing left. Ignore them when it’s time to tell the story. There are enough distractions as it is. That political joke on your newsfeed will be there when you reconnect to the grid.

Write in the cracks: Donna mentioned this on Monday and I’m a big fan. If I have more than five minutes, I write a line. It’s not the easiest way to write, but sometimes it’s the only way.

Don’t finish that sentence: I don’t remember where I heard this advice or which famous author writes this way, but whoever it is: Thank you. The idea is that when it’s time to pack up the manuscript for the day, don’t finish your last sentence. For me, it makes it much simpler to jump into the deep end the next time.

AND the most important thing I’ve learned – the secret to this whole writing shebang is…

Uh oh. Time for a bottle. I’ll have to tell you that secret later. 

I don’t think I’m really qualified to write this post, even though it is our blog topic this week.

I’m what you might call an Type A Personality, maybe with a touch of OCD. When I am into something, I don’t take it lightly and I admit to being particularly driven about anything creative. If you read this blog, or know me, then you know I have very firm opinions about the way I like things to read, look, sound, etc. Writing is what I love to do, so I refuse to give anything less than everything to it. Which is why I work seven days a week, and have for as long as I can remember.

People sometimes ask me what my writing routine is like. My answer: every day, as much as possible.

Sure, there are days that feature nothing but brainstorming, or handling marketing items. But I wake up and commit to writing. Commit to thinking about the story. Commit to making whatever goal I’ve set for myself that day. Writing is my passion, but I also view it as a job.

Where does that leave family? Personal care—exercise, healthy diet, etc? And what about friends?

Well, family comes first. Period. When they need me, I’m there. And unless I’m really under the gun with a deadline, I make a point to spend quality time with them every day.

I admit that after that—after writing and family—I struggle with the rest. I try to eat healthfully and to fit time to run, but last night, for dinner, I had a bowl of mint-chip ice-cream while I sat in front of the T. V. and watched ARROW. (And you know what? It was glorious.)

And my friends—oh, my friends! I have the best friends in the world because after I disappear into the writing cave for a few months as I revise, or draft, they understand, and welcome me back. I really don't think I'd even have friends if I hadn't stumbled across some amazing people in my life.

Balance is tricky, especially when you hold a pursuit as deeply in your heart as I do writing. All you can do is your best. Oh, and find great friends.

If you want to check out a great post on this topic, head over to Jessica Spotswood's blog.

Okay, so this time as I'm writing about the subject of balancing work and a writing career, I'm a bit more optimistic than I was when I wrote this post last year.  But that's only because you caught me this month.  I would've written a very different post last month, which was possibly the busiest of my legal career, complete with a jury trial and another big case where we got hit with huge motion after huge motion with only days to research and draft briefs on complex legal issues.  In the middle of all of the work stress was the launch of my debut novel, a blog tour and an edit letter requiring some significant changes.

My worlds were colliding.  And I didn't have time to think let alone figure out how to deal with it.

So I didn't write. 

It was insane. I felt like I had zero balance.

In retrospect, even with all the craziness, I still made time for a few writing related activities:

I listened to my playlist on the way to and from work, brainstorming ideas for new scenes for the edit;

With Katherine, Veronica, and YA Author Corrine Jackson at Bay Books

I took an evening to go find my book in the wild;

I took a day to celebrate my debut with family and friends;

I attended a signing event with some of the Muses in San Ramon;

I read two novels;

I came up with an idea for a new novel; and

I figured out a major plot point for my revision.




So, my crazy, busy, work-focused month was not as completely unbalanced as I thought.  The time away from writing was hard, but it also forced me to think about my edits before diving in, taking time to brainstorm plot points and figure out how to address my editor's suggestions. I don't know how much I would've written even if I had the time.  The excitement and stress of  a book launch was a bit overwhelming. 

And the time away from writing reminded me of why I started writing in the first place.  Not so my book would be in stores or even sell a single copy.

I started writing as a way to entertain myself in my down time.  Writing was my escape from the stress of my demanding career.  Writing still provides that escape for me.  If anything, my writing becomes more important in busy and stressful times, when I need to clear my head before going to bed or unwind after a difficult day in court.

To me, writing is the balance. 

As Donna said yesterday, this week our theme is balancing the day-to-day life with being a writer.  And as Donna said, sometimes this is easier than others.  There are times when the writing takes over.  When you find yourself facing deadlines or overscheduled for events or scrambling for ways to combat the crazy (see our week tackling that theme.)

Then there are times when real life steals our equilibrium and suddenly there is no balance.

I'm currently going through a not-unexpected but thoroughly unwanted personal/family crisis.  This is one of those life-altering events that makes getting up in the morning and breathing difficult.  The kind of thing that makes you cry over Hallmark commercials, but also makes you enormously grateful for the simplest offers of kindness and assistance.  The kind of thing that demands your focus and absorbs all your energy.

But it is also one of those things that once you have lived with it for a while, the body and mind adapt to operate at a higher level of stress until the next stage is reached.  So when my editor asked if I could handle copyedits last week, I said yes.

And they nearly killed me.

Full disclosure - I have trouble with copyedits even at the best of times (I think it has something to do with always wanting to be right, and feeling like a failure when I'm told I'm wrong).  But last week, because my balance was already off, I was thrown into a tailspin.  I flip-flopped between emotional distress and creative distress with unpredictable speed and horrifying regularity.  And when I finished yesterday, I fell apart, not wanting to face deciding what to have for dinner, much less how I am going to write Book 3 or be poised and prepared for presentations for the next few weeks.

This, my friends, is not balance.

A couple of weeks ago, Veronica, Talia and I did a bookstore event with our friend Corrine Jackson, author of IF I LIE and the upcoming TOUCHED.  Corrine talked about a crisis she went through in the summer of 2011, and how in the middle of it she heard the amazing Laurie Halse Anderson speak about finding the balance between writing and life.  One thing that Ms. Anderson said struck a chord with Corrine--during times of personal crisis or grief, give yourself a break.

When I get into super-productivity mode, I think I can do it all.  Copyedits?  Sure!  Finishing a first draft?  I'll have it to you next week.  Guest blog posts?  You name it, you got it.  Parent volunteering? Carpool mom?  Beta reader?  Dinner for twenty?  Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

In the past couple of weeks, I've learned to say no.  I've learned to ask for others to take over (see Cat Winters's eloquent post last week on Corsets and Cutlasses - she filled in for me at the last minute, though you wouldn't know it to read it.)  I've learned to let some of my responsibilities slide (as any of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook probably know).  I've learned to ask for more time.  Obviously, I still haven't found the balance, but I'm working on it.  And today, rather than start right back in with Book 3, I'm going to take a break.  I'm going to spend the afternoon with my kids, linger over dinner, and count my blessings.  Yes, I have a deadline.  But I also have an editor who wants a decent book and a sane author, and I am ever so grateful that she's willing to be a little flexible.  But she also knows that when it comes down to the wire, I will get it done.  Because that, too, is part of the balance.

My personal/family crisis is not yet over.  The balance will tip again - perhaps sooner, perhaps later.  But the two sides of our lives - real life and the writing life - are ever shifting.  And whichever way the balance tips, when I feel unbalanced I will remember Corrine and Laurie Halse Anderson.  And give myself a break.  Because sometimes, we all need one.  And sometimes, we are the only ones who know when to give it.

After a crazy two weeks of SKINNY launch activities, it seems a bit ironic for me to try to address the topic of balancing writing and life.  Frankly, I'm not doing a very good job of it these days.  I knew October was going to be hectic.  Not only was my debut young adult novel entering the world but, in my day job as a university administrator, I was also hosting a national conference for over three hundred educators - a culmination of almost two years of planning.  Throw in a major editorial overhaul for book two and presentations at several events, and the idea of "balance" quickly became, "What you talkin' about, Willis?"

I can share a couple of things that seem to help.

1.     Cultivate a work team that supports the dream.  If you work full time at a day job while you're writing, it's important to have their support.  Talk to them about your writing dream and give them periodic updates.  You don't need to bore them with all the details or ask them to read drafts, but including them now will be helpful later.  When you start seeing success, they will feel like they have been part of the journey all along.  I constantly tell my co-workers I need and appreciate their support, and it was wonderful to see my whole staff and their families show up in mass at the SKINNY launch party.  They shared in this accomplishment, just like they've experienced all the steps leading up to this point.

2.   Prioritize.  When it gets really bad, look at only the very next thing that has to be done.  If I'm completely overwhelmed, I can't focus on the big picture.  I can just do the next thing.  Maybe that "next thing" is five hundred words or taking out the trash, but accomplishing it is enough get me moving again.  

3.    Exercise your body to support your mind.  I've become quite addicted to my evening WALK/runs and am trying to turn them into RUN/walks.  At first it was a bit stressful to take precious time away from actually sitting in front of the computer, but I found this nightly ritual to completely support the mental process of writing.  Exercise gives me that buffer zone between the day job brain and the mindset I need to create a story.

4.    Use the gaps.  A writing friend recently told me she keeps her laptop always at the ready and even tries to jot down words on the newest manuscript when waiting to pick up her child from school.  While I'm not quite that disciplined, looking for natural spaces in the day is a great way to squeeze in some writing time.  

5.  Finally, appreciate the wonder.  I've said it before, but I can't stress enough the importance of celebrating success along the way.  Tiny steps or huge milestones.  Celebrate them all.

My Work Team (Celebrating at the SKINNY Launch)