Writing with a day job
Originally posted 6/27/2016
As a writer with a day job, I often struggle to find the time to actually write. Sure I spend night and day with ideas and characters swimming around in my head, occasionally keeping me up at night. But the time to actually sit down in front of the blank screen of my laptop and put those ideas on paper, it simply doesn’t exist. Add into that family and friends and forget it. My novel may just stay in my head.
This is how it went for years. My novel sat in my head, sleeping, just waiting for me to find the time. Then I found NaNoWriMo. What a great idea I thought, a way to force myself into putting my ideas on paper (or screen as the case may be). And it was only for a month, so if it didn’t work, no big deal.
Well, it did work. Here I sit, almost four years later, having written two and half novels and numerous short stories, and most importantly having found a group of friends who get it. Every week we MAKE time for writing. We leave our jobs, family, and friends for the night and write. Sure we talk and gossip, but when it comes down to it this diverse group of people is there for one thing, to write. Thanks to this group I now feel like I can truly call myself a writer, my words are on paper. I have written something.
My advice to all of you out there who say, “well, I have all these ideas but when am I going to have time” is to just do it. Find a group, or a space, or anything that motivates you, and write!
-Rachael Crawford