Skip to main content

You Have Me Confused - #MFRWauthor


Welcome to week 36 of the #MFRWauthor blog hop. We're writers and to do so we must spend time actually writing and that brings us to this week's topic: HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR WRITING TIME?

When I first saw this post I got a sense of deja vu. I was certain I'd talked about my writing time before. And I did, in a way, when we did the Day In The Life week. So this topic is similar but not really. Anyway I'm rambling.


I am a pantser. I don't know where the story is going half the time. I mean I have a general idea, but my characters are assholes and like to throw me off course. I roll with it. I say this because I can't just sit and force myself to write at a certain time. My brain doesn't function like that. I don't have an outline to go by, I don't have my muse 'trained' to perform at certain times of the day. I write when my characters demand it and give me some hint as to what they want to do next.

Before this year, there would be days I wouldn't write at all. When we talked about why we write, I wasn't the writer saying might as well ask me why I breathe. I can take a break, not work on, or even think about my WIP or writing at all. However, I'm part of a Facebook group called 10 Minute Novelist, and in that group there's a subgroup called the 365 Club. I have the badge on the left sidebar. That group challenges you to build a writing habit of writing every single day, at least 100 words. I'm proud to say I've not missed a day yet *knock on wood*.

All of those words have not been on my WIP. Some days it's simply been a blog post, like yesterday, and other days I am inspired to work on my current project. I've said before I started writing because of a game I play. I still write stories for that game as a way to relax so those words count.

I'm not a disciplined writer. I don't wake up before my kids to get words in. From 7:30-2:30, Monday-Friday, I'm home with just my dogs during the school year. This is when I try to get my writing done because I know I'll have uninterrupted thoughts. TRY being the word there. It doesn't always work out. I've joined a chat group on Twitter with fellow romance writers and I have been doing beta reading for them. We make the rounds on each other's stories. Now 2 of my free hours are spent dedicated to reading. This is after working out (some mornings) and internetting, because yeah I have to do that too.

Summers, weekends, holidays, my writing moments have to shift to when I'm not doing mommy things. My kids are older and don't need my attention as much, but it's still needed so I squeeze in my writing when I can during those times. When I take my youngest to Tae Kwon Do, my Chromebook is always in tow. I pop in my earbuds and write for the 45 minutes he's in class. If I have to take my middle son to baseball practice, I'll write on the notepad function on my phone.

This has been a really long winded post for an answer that could have been just two words. How do I manage my writing time? I DON'T.

Thanks for stopping by
~Meka

Be sure to check out if the other authors on the hop are more disciplined than I am.



Comments

  1. LOL....My short answer: Not very well:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL the short answers don't make for a really compelling blog post do they?

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  2. had to smile at the image "training the muse" brought up. the muse cowering before a writer holding a chair and whip while she/he yelled "more words, I need more words."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha that is quite the visual. It feels that way sometimes when I need the words and they won't come.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  3. It may not be systematic, but t's great that you work in the writing whenever you can!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. I have to squeeze it in when I can. The ideas don't always flow at the times I need so luckily I always have a ways to jot them down when they hit.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  4. I feel the same way at times. But you're getting words down, so you ARE managing to write.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am getting them down. Not always as many as I'd like, but I'm getting them.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete
  5. At least you're squeezing in the words when you can. The Facebook group and subgroup seems to work in getting you to write daily. Before long it will become a habit. Good luck with training your muse. They tend to be stubborn. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I am. The 365 Group has made me want to write ever day simply because I don't want to log in a zero. LOL Even if the words are junk and may not be used, I still got words in. My muse just laughs at me when I make any attempts to train it.

      thanks for stopping by

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Come Find Me - #MFRWauthor

Another week. Another post for the #MFRWauthor blog hop. This week will be a short and sweet post. It's all about my social media hangouts.

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might - #MFRWauthor

Welcome to week 16 of the #MFRWauthor blog hop. We've covered an array of topics over the last few weeks, with many more to come. This week is all about our biggest dreams.

IWSG - 2021 Let's Do This

Happy New Year! Man 2020 is finally over. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season. It’s January so that means new month new IWSG blog post. To finish off the year, last month I posted about how well I did or didn’t hit the goals I’d set for myself.