With the holiday season upon us, the time crunch is even worse than usual. Finding time to write can be even more of a challenge. But, it is important to remember that even small blocks of time can add up.
I’ve been reading Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman’s Guide to Igniting the Writer Within
I’ve long been a proponent of taking advantage of whatever blocks of time you have – I manage to squeeze a whole lot into my day (starting with prayer – the most important part!), but writing fiction still often gets pushed to the back burner. DeMarco-Barrett reminds us that even 15 minutes a day can add up (a lot more than not taking advantage of those 15 minutes!):
The truth is, you can get a lot done in just fifteen minutes a day. We all have at least fifteen minutes somewhere – while the pasta boils, while a child bathes, while we’re on hold with the phone company or on a coffee break or at lunch. It is amazing how much you can get done when you just chip-chip-chip away at something. In fifteen minutes, you can write a page and in a year you will have the first draft of a novel.
She practices what she preaches:
I know this from personal experience, because my writing life changed when I started taking advantage of those extra minutes in my day. Over the years I’ve started (and finished) articles, stories, and poems, and even a couple of unpublished novels in those snatches of time. Recently, as I waited in the car at my son’s soccer practice, I wrote a draft of a magazine column. I couldn’t find writing paper anywhere in the car, but in the trunk, under the folded-up cart I use at flea markets, I found a brown shopping bag and covered its sides and bottom with a first draft.
I can appreciate this – I have written in all sorts of places and on all sorts of scrap paper – later typing it into the computer. Those little snippets of time can truly add up to something monumental. So, in this extremely busy season (and in all the busy seasons of life), keep writing! You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
AnneFaye
Anne Faye writes from Western Massachusetts and is the author of The Rose Ring and Through the Open Window, and blogs at http://www.annefaye.blogspot.com/. You can follow her on Twitter at @AnneMFaye
Great reminder"
That was the best part about my smart phone when we were in California and I had to drop off and pick up the kids at school. I got a lot done that way.