Yes, I failed after only one week of promising a writer’s blog on Wednesdays. Why? Because Writer’s Write, and that’s what I was doing last night — writing fiction, not blogs.
I had a draft blog for the day about reviews, but I have a lot more to say about that so am saving it for next week 🙂
But this brings up a good point for all of us: writer’s write FIRST. We need to remember that either writing is our career (and we get paid to write and meet deadlines and entertain our readers) or writing is our salvation, and without it we would be less happy, less fulfilled, and less human. And for most of us, writing is both our career and our love. That means that writing needs to have an important place in our lives and after family, writing should come first.
For me, my creative brain is different than my blogging brain, and sometimes I just can’t switch gears when I’ve been in a fictional world. I stare at the blog and think, what on EARTH can I write about? I think, for me, blogging is a bit more organized and clinical. It using a different process and a different goal. So changing mid-stream makes me queasy. Sort of like when I think about plotting. (Shiver.)
Having school-aged kids helps. They have to go to school. So I try very hard to make sure that when they are at school, I focus on writing. It’s my only true uninterrupted time. But when I have a deadline, I also set aside time in my office. Avoiding the Internet, video games, and general procrastination can be difficult, especially for me since Procrastination is my middle name. But I’ve gotten much better at it over the years.
Keep your writing time sacred. As writers, the writing must always come first. Before blogging, before business, before fun.
And on that note … I’m leaving today to take my daughter to Ashland, Oregon where she’s registering for college classes! It’s an overnight weekend and I’m hoping that while she’s having fun at the campus, I can hang out at the British Pub I found last time we were there and write.
What do you do to keep your writing time sacred? Do you have another passion that you diligently carve out time for?