Making Time in a Busy Life

We all have busy lives and hectic schedules.  Maybe you work 40+ hours a week as a nurse, an accountant, a lawyer, or a teacher.  Or you may be a student with a full course load and a part-time job.  You could be a mom or a dad busy with bath-times, temper tantrums, school schedules, extra-curriculars, lunches, dinners, breakfasts and snacks.  You may even (most likely) be some combination of all of the above. 

Image by jjpacres via FlickrSo what does that mean for the time you’ve got to write?

Usually, if you’re human and not some mutant-type being that requires no food, rest or free-time, it means that if you truly want to write, you have to make the time to do so. 

It could mean that you’re writing during your lunch time. 

You may have to write in 15-minute stretches between classes or during study breaks.

Or maybe you have to take advantage of nap-times to sit down at the computer and write.  You could be that parent who is sitting with a notebook on your lap and scribbling ideas down as they come to you, while you’re watching the kids in gymnastics/skating/swimming lessons/etc.

The bottom line, no matter what you do or who you are, is that you’ve got to use the time that you can, take advantage of every moment that you can grasp and write.

I have three kids – 7-, 5-, and 3-years old.  The oldest is at school all day and the middle one is in doing half-days, while I (mostly) stay at home with the youngest.  They each do gymnastics, putting us at the club 3 days a week for their lessons.  The two younger ones also do skating lessons twice a week and the oldest started piano lessons this fall too.  On top of this I’m working part-time as well.  And that is just what we’ve got to do outside of the home – there are still of course all the regular chores, errands and tasks involved in caring for and taking care of a home and three kids.

So when do I write?

Honestly, whenever I can.  I keep a notebook in my purse with a pencil so that I can jot down ideas when I’m waiting for the kids at school or watching lessons.  I spend an hour or two in the morning on the computer checking e-mails, working on my blogs, ‘playing’ on Facebook and Twitter, and doing revisions and edits on my work.  And I spend an hour or so after I put the kids to bed most nights writing and working on my stories. 

Does this happen every single day? No.  Does this ‘schedule’ work every single time I use it? No.  Does it work more often than not? Absolutely.

We’re all busy people and we have to take that into account.  Very few of us, especially when we’re starting out, have the time or freedom to spend 8 hours each day writing and working on the computer.  But we all wish we could.  We all work toward the dream of being able to do just that.  Until then, all we can do is write when we can, and carve out as much time as we can manage.

So find the time that works for you, be happy writing and keep up the good work.

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And don't forget that it's Wednesday so we've got the Writer Wednesday Blog Hop going on!  To link up and hop click on the button to the right, and we'll see you around!

So This is What I'm Doing

I once described how I came up with the stories that I write.  (To see that post go here.)  It’s what works for me as a creative process.  Of course there are the inevitable ‘dry’ periods where for whatever reason I’m just not coming up with anything new.  During those times I do whatever I can to keep writing – and being a busy mom, sometimes student, and occasionally gainfully employed person, the time I have to write can sometimes be pretty scarce… Case in point: January through August of this last year.  In the last two posts I’ve mentioned the three stories that I have in the works (as LD Ferris) and I told you little bit about where each of them stood.  Now I want to tell you a little bit more about each.

The Chosen

from http://www.myspace.com/etherealflyer

The idea behind this one is something of a universal good vs. evil plot.  There are a few twists, a couple turns, an (almost) love triangle, shades of grey, and that question that seems always to be asked – how much are you willing to sacrifice to achieve the end you seek? 

Lynora Montgomery is the oldest of three sisters who grew up in Massachusetts.  She’s an honor student at Yale, a kind, caring, and generous individual, who is popular, serious, and most importantly, a witch; a really powerful, really ‘good’ witch.  There are a lot of extenuating circumstances, a few complete surprises (even to me) and some really good friends.  When the darkness of evil starts to thicken, she and all those around her know that they must do what they can to snuff it out. 

But what do you do, when the only way to save the ones you love is to give up everything that you are, and everything that you have within you?

Immortals

In many ways my fascination with the paranormal, the fantastical, the mythological and (lol) the beauty of Greece combined in to a dream, an idea that then became Immortals.  The immortals, or the Athanatos (thanatos=death in Greek, a-thanatos=undying) as they call themselves in this story, were created, bred and born by the ancient gods and goddesses.  Though the primary mythological backgrounds in this story are based in Greek mythology, there are also aspects of Celtic, Viking, Roman, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Sumerian mythology as well.  

Identifying Mark of the Athanatos

This story is centered on Alexis Vasilios, a young woman born in Greece and raised in the USA, who discovers that she has strange abilities, powers that exceed the imagination, when she is in a car accident with her best friends.  Through her extraordinary efforts she is able to save her friend, thus making her realize that somehow, someway, she’s different from every one she’s ever known, although she doesn’t, indeed can’t recognize how truly different and superb she really is.  It is Xander NIkitas, the Athanatos seeker who manages to track her down and explain her remarkable heritage to her.  Yet as they learn more about her history, they are both shocked by the depths of truths that they find.   

Alexis’s story is about her self discovery, not only of her abilities but of a place and a people who she feels she can belong with.  Through her incredible journey she also manages to uncover a secret power play within the Athanatos community, she forges friendships that will last forever, and finds the one man who she can see herself loving through time immortal.

The Gifted

This story is set close to home… literally.  With settings near Magrath, Pincher Creek, Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria, as well as some locations throughout Europe, this story is told, more or less, about right here at home.  Interestingly enough, though not really surprising when you think about it, when imagining and describing some of the characters personalities, I’ve found bits and pieces of myself and the people actually in my life appearing on the page in front of me.  (You may have noticed in the introduction of Dawn McKenna that I said she took a job teaching dance at a studio in Lethbridge… And everyone who knows me knows that I danced for years, and still consider teaching.)  It’s been an interesting process, so far, telling a story about places that I actually visit all the time – some more than others. 

Photo from www.dumbweek.wordpress.com

As for what the story is actually about, well, to put it simply: the gifted.  Individuals, and whole groups of people, that are gifted with supernatural and extraordinary abilities or talents.  It’s not about witches in the way that The Chosen is, or beings created for a specific purpose as those in Immortals, but it’s about a world, our world, that exists along side a whole host of other similar worlds, all connected together.  From those other worlds, beings of supernatural origin have come across into our world and over the millennia have congregated in groups for survival.  There are vampires, fae, were-creatures (including lions, cougars, panthers, bears, wolves, etc.), sprites, brownies, leprechauns, berserkers, and other species.  

The Gifted tells a story about six people (the three Tallant siblings, Dawn McKenna, her cousin Shayla O’Conner and her best friend Bradford Lawrence) and how their lives come together and change, until they aren’t just six people, and they aren’t just siblings, or cousins, or friends.  Through their experiences, through the challenges of responsibility and even fate, they become three couples, and they become a family. 

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So that is what I’m working on, most of the time anyways.  It’s so much fun creating these stories – the ‘worlds’ that they exist in, the characters and people who inhabit them, the things both real and amazing and those that are fantastical and imagined.  It can be aggravating, frustrating, annoying, complicated, mind numbing and hard, difficult work, but it is so worth the effort and the time it takes.  To read, even an unfinished work-in-progress, is so rewarding and enjoyable, and really, really, just fun.  I honestly love it.  Every single part of it.  And now, I’m going to get back to it! 

See you again soon!

Writing Preparation – NaNoWriMo 2010

In the lead up to NaNoWriMo 2010 there has been a lot of chatter amongst writers about what it takes to actually write a novel in 30 days. As most of you will know NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an event that takes place each November and urges writers to reach the goal of writing a 50,000 word novel over the course of the month. Those who manage to reach that goal are then able to enter their finished work get some cool acclaim within the writing community and of course, the bragging rights of having written a novel in 30 days! The event is something that amateur writers and accomplished authors alike are able to participate in.

Image by nataliesap via Flickr

I signed up to participate for the first time during last year's competition (2009) but it quickly became clear to me that it takes more than just signing up, having an idea, and sitting down to write. The month ended and I think my word count was around a paltry 10,000 words. Admittedly, I didn't start writing until after the first week was over but it wasn't time that was the major problem. Over the course of the last year I've spent a lot of time writing (though, God knows nowhere near as much as I'd have liked to) and though not all of my writing has been fiction one thing has become clear.

Planning is a majorly important facet of writing a good, cohesive story. This brings me back to the chatter I mentioned that's happening within the writing community right now. Everyone is talking about whether it's necessary to plan your story and how much planning is really important. Having failed dramatically last year, I know that if I want to succeed for NaNoWriMo this year I need to have my story planning done before November 1^st.

So over the last few weeks and for the rest of October, I will be spending some time each day working on the story plan – from developing character profiles, to creating an outline for the story itself, and doing research on the topics and settings that I may or may not end up using in the story. I may discover on Nov. 30^th that all that I've done in preparation is major overkill, but this year I'd rather be over prepared then not prepared at all.

I'm determined, you see, to hit 50,000 words. Hopefully they won't end up being 50,000 spectacularly horrible words but at the very least, 50,000 adequate words. If nothing else, at the end of November I hope to have a first draft for that new story I mentioned a couple months ago… Yes, I've been hoarding the idea for a while now. And as a bonus, since nearly all my time during November will be spent writing (when not off doing the Mom thing), I'll be using some of my prep/planning work to keep the blog rolling. See there's me, planning ahead again!!

Reading, Writing, Reading, Writing...

My two favorite past times are reading and writing. As a stay at home mom I do a lot of each but it seems that there are days when I feel like doing only one or the other - I just want to read 'that great new book' that's out, or I have to get the next chapter of my own story on paper (or the screen, as the case may be). I'm not entirely sure what I should do on days like that though. To sit down and read, for pleasure, all day seems like I'm stealing something from my kids - aka Me - but to plunk down at the computer and write all day seems like just as much of an indulgence.

Where do you draw the line? When is it too much time reading or writing?

The advantage when reading is that you can get up, at any time really, and help the kids if they need it - find lunch, get dressed, go to the bathroom... You can pack your book around with you and steal a peek whenever you can squeeze it in. In the drive thru, while waiting to pick the kids up at school, and while cooking dinner you can have your book right there with you to read a few pages any chance you get.

Writing doesn't really give you that leisure. Yes, I can pack my laptop around with me and boot up 'where ever' I want to but the difference is in the convenience. You have to have more than just a couple minutes because otherwise you spend all your time turning your machine on and then opening the files you need. By the time you get down to writing, it's time move on to your next task of the day.

Now a lot of people I've talked to say that as a writer, I should be writing EVERY day. I do agree with that, to a certain degree, because if you're serious about writing a book it is your job, your career, and you need to treat it with the same respect. But that brings to mind, while my mind anyways, the flip side of my earlier questions.

How do you know when it's enough? Do you use daily quota's? X number of words or X number of pages a day? A certain number of hours? What about on those days when the creative juices just aren't flowing and you can't write a word? It doesn't do you a bit of good to sit there staring at a blank screen or to beat your head against the desktop. Do you turn away and do something different for the day or do you find a different project that you can write on????

I guess as someone who's still trying to figure out what works best for myself, these are things that bother me every once in awhile. I won't deny that there are some days when I'm loathe to even turn on my computer. Other days when even though I could write, I'd much rather read something. I'm trying to find a balance that works for me. A system, and the time, that allows me to work and relax to the best of my abilities... And I sure hope that my efforts will be worth it, kids and guilt aside, I enjoy writing too much to give it up. I don't know that I could go back to a typical 9-5 job and be happy.

Here's keeping my fingers crossed...