So, my writing life has undergone a lot of change in the past month. It's been positive (book contract!), but it's requiring me to reconsider how I spend my writing time.
I can usually spend 1-2 hours per day on writing tasks and still hold up my end of the household responsibilities reasonably well. With my commitment to a daily writing habit, I've been much more prolific in the past year than in all the years previous even with limited time.
What's leaving me feeling insecure this month is figuring out how to keep that mojo going while taking on the new tasks that my good fortune has given me: editing, marketing, social networking. I've been considering allocating certain days to certain things. Editing Monday, Social Networking Tuesday, Writing Wednesday, etc. I'm already feeling the strain now that school has started. I know the best thing I can do for my book is to finish the sequel and get it out there, stat.
How do you all balance the non-writing parts of a writing life?
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I think I spend more time blogging/networking and I don't even have a book contract (Congrats!!). I've tried doing certain tasks on certain days: it was a good plan but not really for me. You should give it a shot! That way you're not all over the place and can put all your focus into one thing each day. Actually, I should probably try that again...
ReplyDeleteIf you find the solution, please let me know. I never can find the right balance for things, although it has helped to think I need to do such-and-such first, then this, and later on that.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah and Cherie. The trouble I run into is that I find social networking stuff so distracting and then I spend too much time on that and don't save myself enough time for revision and new writing. It's tricky because effective social networking seems to benefit from riding the waves--which means giving it at least some of your attention all the time. Hurm . . . .
ReplyDeleteIt is an ongoing struggle to balance the business part of a writing career and the solitary moments of creativity. Some months I do a better job than others. If you don't hear from me, I'm probably spending too much time writing new stuff and neglecting social media.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the eternal dilemma. I'm not a good person to ask about balancing projects and duties within the constrictions of time. I often ask the same questions.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Congrats on the book contract! I'm another one who struggles with this, but it's helped me to do the bare minimum (with social media) when I have a lot on my plate writing-wise. I tend to need more writing time to revise than draft, so when I'm revising I'm not doing as much social media stuff.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't have a contract--so I think deadlines throw a whole different wrench into everything.
Ah, balance. It's so hard. I tried to separate activities into certain days, but I find my brain (and my mood) needs to dictate what I do. Unfortunately, this leaves me bouncing around and feeling exhausted. When I really need to focus, I have to get away from social media -- not only is a time sucker, but sometimes it puts me in a bad mood (overly negative people or Pollyannas). Wishing you the best. If you do figure out something that works, please share!!
ReplyDeleteMy IWSG Post