How to Write Two Novels a Year

We've all heard the old saying "there aren't enough hours in the day." This is especially true for a busy husband/wife, mother/father, business owner/employee and writer.

The first -and best- thing you can do is to evaluate how you spend your time, where you can shave off a few minutes (or couple of hours) and use that time to write.

Budget your time just like you budget your money.

Another thing to keep in mind is this: Writing doesn't always mean sitting in front of the computer and pounding away on the keys, writing is a state of mind. Even in the midst of mundane, every-day challenges, writers are writing, storing up information for future use.

Many people schedule their writing time, getting up thirty-minutes or an hour early every day, setting aside one hour an evening, one evening a week, etc. and this is great! Here are a few other time management techniques I -and others- have implemented over the years.

Think Multi-tasking

Combine activities that will allow time to write like grocery shopping while getting your oil changed or hair cut. This is easy now days with Super Centers like WalMart and Target that offer a variety of services (auto servicing, vision centers, nail salons, hair salons, etc) in one place.

Washing dishes while cooking will create free time when your meal is over.

Take care of laundry while cooking supper or watching TV.

Write, edit or do research while sitting with the children when they do homework or at commercial breaks during your favorite TV shows. We all need recreation, but can you spare some of that time for your writing?

Eat at your desk while writing, carry a tape recorder while walking and traveling. Even the trip to and from work presents many with an opportunity to record thoughts and ideas.

How about noontime exercise followed by yogurt and fruit instead of that huge sit-down lunch? Or grab a bite on the way to the library to edit or write. You'll be amazed how much you can accomplish in just twenty or thirty minutes of the kind of quiet you find in a library.

People put a lot of store in exercising and we should, but it's been proven that frequent 10 minute walks are just as beneficial physically as longer walks two or three times a week. In the same sense, frequent 10 minute writing sprees can be just as beneficial as longer blocks of time two or three days a week.

Carry around a notepad and pencil, pack of index cards, tape recorder or one of those new-fangled word processors that are designed to save up to 100 pages of text and work with your computer. Check out the Alpha Smart products.

Print out and carry with you the last 3, 5, 10 pages of what you're working on or a scene/chapter that's giving you trouble. You never know when time will present you with a few moments: waiting in line at the bank or the grocery store, waiting at a doctor or dentist office, waiting at the car wash or mechanic, waiting at a ball game for your child to come up to bat or dance or perform with the band.

Have small children?

Squeeze in a sentence or two or a scene or chapter during their nap and/or play time.

Hire a babysitter or swap babysitting with another stay-home mom 1 or 2 days a week.

Have older children do the dishes or laundry and help clean the house so that you will have time to write.

Ask your spouse or other family members to take the children out for pizza or a movie one or two evenings a week/month.

Some of these suggestions may require spending a little money, but if you can afford to, it will allow you hours of writing time. Many of us spend our hard-earned-cash on various forms of entertainment; why not invest it in your writing career instead?

Go to church 2 or 3 times a week?

Will your relationship with God really suffer if you spend some of that time writing? After all, writing is a talent, a gift from Him don't you think He wants you to develop that talent and use that gift?

Now don't go getting judgmental, it's just a suggestion.

Write it Down!
It's a proven fact that people who write their goals are more likely to succeed. This is true in your writing career, especially if you are not able to pursue it full time. Make a "to do" list of immediate tasks. Keep it handy and scratch off items as they are completed. This can be expounded into short-term (6 mos. - 1yr.), long-term (3-5yrs) and lifetime or career. Set goals for your writing but keep them flexible!

Another idea would be to figure out how many pages a day you need to write and then figure out how/where/when you can do it. For example, how much time or how many pages a day do you need to write a 100K word novel? Give yourself ample time (say 6 months) Okay...100,000 words divided by 6 months = 16,670 words per month. Divide that by 24 days (6 days x 4 wks) = 694 words per day. Divide that by 250 (avg. words per page) and you have 2.75 pages per day. Using this formula as a guide you can write up to two novels in a year!

Remember, even if you write one or two sentences, or a paragraph each day, it all adds up and, just one-page-per-day equals a 365 page (or 91,250 word) novel at the end of a year.

One more thing I've found that helped immensely was to stop spending so much time on the Internet. On-line lists and groups, Instant Messengers, etc. are WONDERFUL, but just plain take up too much time.

Another Note: Once you become published you'll have to implement promoting into your schedule. However if you stay focused, write your goals or utilize a "to do" list, you can still write a novel or at the very least several articles, essays, and/or short stories every year. One way to do this is to write in your peak time and promote other times. For example, I've found I am most creative in the mornings, therefore I use that time to write and promote in the evenings. Whatever you do, remember, the goal is to keep writing.

Juggling life and writing is more than a balancing act. It takes discipline, dedication and determination, so, carve out your own special time and space, implement one or more of these ideas and get busy!