This is a common question I get asked. “I wrote a book!” I proudly say, and they look at me quizzically.
“Wow, that’s awesome!” they say (and it is). “When do you find the time to write?”
The time is there, if you look for it. It might not look like a lot of time, but it’s there, lurking in corners, trying not to be noticed.
Sometimes, finding the time is easy. Sometimes it’s as simple as choosing to sit on the couch with your laptop, instead of watching XYZ series on TV. Sometimes it’s bringing a notebook to swimming lessons so I can scribble a few notes while the kids swim. Sometimes it’s hacking away a chapter while the kids do their extra-curricular activities and I’m supposed to be cheering them on.
Sometimes, finding the time is hard. The kids are sick and need care and attention. The after school curricular activities leave no time. Work is so busy that being creative after the kids are in bed is impossible, and you just stare at the TV with whatever series means you don’t have to THINK because thinking is exhausting.
But even in these busy days and times, there is still time to write.
When people thinking about writing, they picture someone hunched over a desk or a computer, in a writing spree of 2-3 hours, or more. They think of artists in cold attic garrets, slaving away at their craft. I used to think similar to them. I used to think that if I couldn’t sit down for a good two-hour stretch, then I wasn’t going to get any quality writing done and it was very hard to start. This kind of thinking traps writers into not writing, into not starting to write, either, because they think they might be interrupted or not be able to concentrate or get anything done in a shorter amount of time. If this is the case, you just don’t write, because it’s very hard to find that kind of time.
But you can find other kinds of time. Even if all you do is sit down and re-read yesterday’s chapter. Or put down one sentence before the kids demand your attention. Or hash out plot details while walking to school and write three notes down on your phone for reference later. Or sit down in the morning with a coffee while the kids eat cereal and scribble a paragraph into a notebook that you’ll add to your chapter later that night. It’s still writing. It all adds up.