Finding Time To Write

Quit looking for time to write. Just pick up your laptop (or notebook) or sit at your desk and START!

Here's what happened when my husband Robert tried to plan time to write. Our 3 year old daughter wanted to play in the bath. He got the bath ready for her and then brought the laptop with him to type whle she bathed and still be able to keep an eye on her safety.

Our 6 year old daughter realized a bath was being had and quickly joined her sister. Fighting, playing and splashing ensued. Robert got no actual writing done and instead had to cut their bath short and get them ready for bed.

He read them their bedtime story and then opened up the laptop again. He made a crucial mistake; he was on the bed when he opened the laptop. A while later, when I brought a coffee up to him, I found him fast asleep. No writing had been done during the two hours he'd spent upstairs.

I know that finding time to write when you have family and other obligations can be really difficult. But don't we all owe it to ourselves to try? (At least Robert TRIED!)

National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo begins on November 1st. In the spirit of my new theme for this year, and my more recent post about getting rid of the chains I place on myself, I have decided to sign up for it.

NaNoWriMo is about writing. There is no real prize at the end of it other than your own sense of accomplishment. You are supposed to start writing on the 1st of November, and by the end of the month, hopefully in time to submit your pages, you will have 175 pages written. You don't need to edit your pages. You don't even need to make sure your writing is GOOD. You just have to write. It's about the quantity of your writing, not the quality of your writing.

I think this is ideal for me because I never seem to finish any of my novels. Not one. I'm always so worried that my writing will be rubbish that I don't even start, let alone finish. But NaNoWriMo takes that fear away. My writing will be rubbish. And that's okay. I just have to get the writing done.

With 30 days in November, I will need to write about 6 pages a day (5.8 pages) for each day in the month of November.

So who is brave enough to sign up to do this with me? Just go here and sign up. Then post a comment below and let me know what your user name is at NaNoWriMo. In November, I will post a weekly tally of everyone's progress.

So, who's brave enough to take the NaNoWriMo challenge?

Unbound

I posted this in my weight loss blog, but it is also appropriate to writing so I decided to post it here to.
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Lyn over at Escape From Obesity recently wrote these words,

"It is in our power to conceive and generate the life we want."

What an amazing quote! It is so true and it speaks to the heart of so many things, including but not limited to weight loss and fitness.

Recently, I've heard so many people complain about wanting to lose weight but not being able to find the motivation. I just want to say to them, "The only thing getting in your way is you!" but I hold my tongue lest I offend. Why does everyone think they have to wait for this elusive motivation?

When I started this weight loss journey, it was because I knew I was not living the life I wanted. I was unhealthy and unhappy with my weight, and I knew that it was in my power to change it. So I did. Seriously. We all have the power to live our dreams. All we have to do is start stepping towards them.

Lyn also wrote,

"I am not chained to THIS life. You are not chained to yours."

Again, this is so true and such a simple concept that people seem to often forget. We have CHOICES, and it is our choices that lead us either in the direction we want or further away from what we want.

And this is true in every area of our lives. For instance, I keep making up excuses for not writing my stories. Sometimes, I blame my fear of failure. (What if my writing isn't good enough?) Sometimes, I blame my family. (It's never quiet enough to write,and the kids need my attention too much.) Sometimes I just blame my state of mind. (I'm too tired to write.) And sometimes I even blame my own personality.(I've always had a problem with procrastination. It's just who I am.)

But the truth is that I am not happy with this state of affairs. I have always wanted to be a writer, to work towards publication, to take the stories I have in my head and get them out there for the world to read. The only shackles keeping me from doing this are of my own making. The phrase I want to say to others who complain about lack of motivation also applies to me. The only person getting in my way is me!

So no more chains. The chains keeping me from living my dreams are completely of my own making, so it is up to me to remove the chains. And I'm going to, even if I have to do it one link at a time.

The one thing I have learned from losing over 100 pounds is that I am capable of achieving anything and everything.

I can make my dreams a reality, and I will. What about you?