Even as the best of writers, we all have busy lives. The kids need to be taken care of, bills need to be paid, and most of us have other hobbies other than writing. And let’s not forget the unexpected things that come up and take precedent over writing.
Lately, I have been very guilty of not having time to write, and it’s been making me feel a little disappointed in myself. I don’t have kids, I have a few bills, and a few hobbies here and there, but there is still time to write here and there and I haven’t really been taking advantage of it. As I sit here, thinking about NaNoWriMo coming up and how I haven’t really been writing lately, it makes sense that other writers must go through this too.
This leads me to Writer Life Lesson #25: Sometimes it’s okay not to write.
For the past few months, my life has been crazy and has only gotten crazier since then. I was working a full-time 9-5 job, doing full-time school online, doing judo four days a week, and interviewing for a new job. Thankfully now some of that has calmed down. I’m still in school (though getting that much closer to the end), judo is still four days a week (when I can make it), but my job has completely changed.
Currently, I am going through orientation for my new job which has completely different duties from my 9-5 job, and is no longer 9-5, but whenever shift they need. This shift has really begun to eat my writing time, and some days I come home and the last thing I want to do is write.
Sitting here, finally having time to write, and thinking about it, I’ve realized it’s okay for me not to write for a few weeks here and there while things settle, or while I’m focusing on orienting in the new job.
If I can get a few sentences here and there, then that’s great! Even if it’s a single sentence, or even a single word, progress is still being made. It’s alright to take previous drafts and frankenstein a book out of previous drafts and go from there.
I’ve been writing for over a decade and some aspects of writing are still new to me, and that’s great!
Writing is still an adventure, and it’s okay to write or not write. But you can bet I’m going to give it my best shot come November 1st!
If you want to write a novel, join me here!
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