Writing in Busy Times

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Usually I think of summer as a lazier time when I can leisurely get peripheral writing-related chores completed. I’d put all kinds of things on my calendar to do this summer: Facebook ad experiments, slideshows for LinkedIn, website stuff.  There was no time to do any of the extras I wanted to try.  I did write a book, though, and promoted one that came out in May.  There was a lot of writing on the go.

So what do we do during frantically busy times to stay on track with our writing goals?  I’ve got a few tips: 

Revisit your goals.  Are you trying to knock out a NaNoWriMo-esque word count?  It may be better to dial back your goal to something so manageable that you don’t have to worry at all.  To stay motivated, it may be better to have a string of daily successes than to rack up a huge word count.

Be flexible with setbacks and with when and where you write.  One of the most helpful things that I did was to learn how to write in public places and to be able to pick up my story in odd pockets of the day when I had dead time…waiting for my car to have its oil changed, waiting in a doctor’s office, waiting in a carpool line. Be sure to upload your story and outline to the cloud so that you can access it on the go (this can be as simple as emailing it to yourself).

Make the most of a quick writing session. I write a lot faster when I know what I’m writing that day.  If you’re not a fan of outlines, at least sketch out a sentence or two at the end of the previous writing session to indicate what you plan on writing the next time.

Even if you have no time to write, use lists. You can still make progress on that manuscript, even on the worst days. I’ve found it’s  helpful to have headers of lists to fill out: “5 ways to describe my protagonist,” “7 ways to describe the main setting,” “5 potential subplots involving secondary characters,”  “5 possible endings for this book,” “7 ways my protagonist can grow,” “5 things my protagonist fears more than anything,”  “my protagonist’s biggest goals,” etc.

Tips specifically for busy parents: 

For me, this was more about squeezing writing in to a packed schedule without feeling as if I were being a distant parent.  My tips are geared to that goal:

Share what you’re doing.  I found it helped to loop my kids into what I was doing, especially when they were younger.  When they see us on a laptop, to them we could be doing anything.  We could be on social media or playing a game.  I’d tell them a little about my story and what I was working on that day to help them feel part of the process.

Don’t stare at the laptop when they’re talking.  I’m so guilty of this one, but I find that 90% of the time now I’m cognizant enough to give family members (kids and my husband) all of my attention when they’re trying to talk to me.

On the other hand, I think it’s vital to tell them you need 15/30/45 minutes of uninterrupted time for your writing so that they can understand/respect it.  Maybe later, when they’re adults with their own dreams, they’ll remember that we respected our art and invested time in it. For toddlers, I put a timer out and told them when it dinged they could come in (and, yes, this was for just 5-7 minutes).  For the especially little guys, I’d recommend keeping them in a safe place like a crib and giving them board books so they can read while we write.

I always did something fun with my children as a reward for their cooperation: we played cards together or drew a picture or read a story, etc.

And don’t forget: 

Take care of yourself.  Exercise more, sleep more.  There’s no way you can run on empty for very long. And, if you’re really burned out?  Just put the manuscript away.  But I’d recommend putting the exact date on your calendar that you plan on picking it back up again.

How do you handle writing during the busiest times?