How Writers Find Time to Write

When I was expecting my daughter, I put a baby swing in my office with the idea that she would happily swing away while I happily wrote. Anyone who has ever raised a human knows that that is not what happened. She liked the swing well enough but not for the hours I needed to get anything done. And holding her in the Baby Bjorn while I typed was equally as foolhardy.

Now she’s in school and I’m lucky enough to go back to my favorite time to write - in the middle of everyone else’s work day. But I wasn’t always this lucky.

When I worked full time, I wrote on the weekends, every weekend. I once watched someone jog down the street and thought, I would do that too, if only I wasn’t writing. Riiiiiight.

The thing is, nobody has to do this. Nobody has to write. But if you are called to do it, there are ways to find space in your life for your writing projects.

Live for the Weekend

For many years I was a weekend writer (and a day job editor). It was the #1 thing I did with my time. It was my Saturday and Sunday while everyone else was at the beach, or the gym and having #SundayFundays. I was having fun too. In a room, by myself, making things up.

See, I need to lose myself in my story and I need big chunks of time with which to do that.

Wake Up Early

There’s a reason #5amwritersclub is a thing, and for a while I joined these hearty souls. I would wake up at four and make a cup of tea and sleepily head to my office. There’s a part of The Other Side of Everything where Amy paints through the night. The details came directly from my experience writing at dawn.

Four hours in, Amy’s back hurt. Her wrist was cramped and her fingers felt arthritic. It was still dark, but she could hear the sound of the highway, and, minutes later, of birdsong. It was as though someone had cranked up the volume on the day.  In an hour, the sun would push fully into view.

Write Between Gaps in Time

The poet and anthropologist Marion Lougheed tells me captures doesn’t wait for the big chunks of time.

Writing makes me feel more emotionally well, so I prioritize it as much as my tired brain allows. I will write in small bits. I don't wait until I'll have an hour or more. Little bits can add up.

I also write between the gaps. Usually this looks like sitting down on a bench during my morning walk, and typing into my notes app; or writing in my notes app while in line during school pick up. My notes app is full of the beginnings of short stories of essays that I will write when I’m able to make time for them.

Write Like Its Your Job

There’s a privilege here, to be sure. And some working writers will only get here after retiring from their day jobs. But if you are called to write, and you have time during the day, this is how you do it. Set aside time for writing, either in a favorite chair with a legal pad (the novelist Jennifer Egan famously writes on a legal pad), or in a chair, at a desk, tapping away on a keyboard as I do.

Set aside hours for losing yourself inside your story. This is not the only way, as you can see, but it is a great way to do it.