The Dilemma of Time: A Chaotic Writers Nightmare

Per my last post I expressed that for people like me, writing is not a fun little hobby but a nessisty for my mental well being. The problem is where and when does the average person find the time to satiate that mental itch for composition.

Truthfully this is something I have struggled with for a long time and with the state of things currently, the challenge amplifies with every season.

For everyone bills must be paid, dependents fed and roofs kept over our heads. For a lot of us this task requires a unmoral amount of time and labor often in career fields that don't particularly make us happy.

As a teacher for the past six years I often work over sixty hours a week, twenty of those unpaid, leaving me with very little time to do the one thing I think about all day long, writing those expansive stories in my head.

If it were up to me I would make a full time job out of my novels but all authors know how much time and patience that takes. Here's what I do to manage and maybe it will help you and whatever you do to make ends meet.

Make Writing Time Flexible:

One of my most hated pieces of advice I got as an aspiring author was to set a specific time aside everyday to write, no matter what. There were two problems with this. One, I am very nurodivergent and sticking to a routine is one of the hardest parts of my life. Routine is built into my job already and if I build it into my free time, I am never truly relaxed. Secondly adult life is unpredictable and we often do not have control over when and where our free time occurs.

I simply start with a small achievable goal. Friday I wished to write a thousand words of my novel but I did not set aside a specific time when it would get done. I worked for 30 minutes this morning on my commute to work and again on my way home. I wanted to write before bed but unfortunatly my lesson plans got in the way. And you know what? Thats okay.

Always carry a notebook and a pen if your in a place where laptop work is unfavorble, you can always transcribe the work later. Ten minutes here and there, everyday, is better than writing nothing because you are waiting for a large chunk of unbroken time. I conisder these little sprints a break for my brain throughout my day. Somedays I get many and others I get none, but whats important is that I am constantly progressing in my project.

Pocket/Purse Sticky Notes

Any writer can tell you that inspiration ALWAYS strikes at the most incovient moments. Last time I had my best story idea was while teaching osmosis to a group of roudy 7th graders two days before christmas break. All of my fellow teacher can imagine the pure chaos of that scene. I knew if it didn't ger written down the brillent lightbulb thought would gone. Instead of let it slip away i grabed the sicky notes from my labtable and scribbled down keywords to jog my memory. Since that day I carry the little color cards with me everywhere so nothing slips away.

Embrace the Messy and Disorganized

It will be no shock to anyone who knows me that I have resigned myself to being what you would call a hot mess of a person. I will never be type A enough to organize my life into sorted little boxes and my writing is exactly the same.

Every novel I have ever written has been written at random, out of order and purely based on my vibes of that day. So how do I get anything done? Labels. No, I am not talking about the label maker file system you may be thinking of. I am speaking of a short header at each chapter telling me exactly its purpose, then it gets put away for me to sort later and continue writing the next scene. Once I have enough pieces then they get organized like a creative puzzle of words. There is something satisfying about taking the random ramblings and weaving them together like an elaborate rug.

For the orginzed mind this is overwhelming but for the chaotic brain, it's freeing. Your process will be yours and yours alone based on how your mind operates. Trial and error will be you close friend for a while but once you spend time with your mind your writing will spiral around you and take on a life of its own.