Develop time management.
If you really want to write, you will find the time. I don’t watch much TV (thankfully it’s not that much of a sacrifice to give it up) and use that time in an evening to do my major writing stint. So ask yourself what you're happy to sacrifice so you can write and keep going. Get into a routine. Be persistent. You’ll train your mind into accepting “oh this is writing time” and you’re then more inclined to get on with the job in hand. Doesn’t matter whether this is 10 minutes or 10 hours (though naturally the latter is more helpful for novel writing!). Use whatever little scraps of time you have to write notes, jot down story ideas etc. All those ten minutes here and there add up.
Use scraps of time to read.
Going to the dentists, doctors or anywhere you’ll have to wait for a while? I use that time to read. Reading helps writing. Train journeys are good for this too.
Time in your fiction.
Does the passing of time make sense in your tale? Have you checked for inconsistencies? Have you made your world come alive with seasons, the way days work and whether your characters work by whatever passes for day or night in your realm? Does your tale progress to a natural conclusion based on what’s gone on in your story? Your tale should have a series of peaks and troughs before reaching the climax at the end of the story. And the troughs must be as interesting as possible. They’re good places to drop in sub-plots and information your readers need to know but this should still be so interesting your readers won’t know it’s a trough.
Time for reading work through.
Always read through your finished work at least twice, with decent intervals in between. You will pick up different errors on each occasion I promise. You will also wonder why you didn’t see such errors before. Give yourself plenty of time for reading your work through so when you do send it out, you know it’s the best it can be.
Writing Time.
Your writing time is time for you. Having time for yourself should make you easier to live with so helps your relatives too - well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
If you really want to write, you will find the time. I don’t watch much TV (thankfully it’s not that much of a sacrifice to give it up) and use that time in an evening to do my major writing stint. So ask yourself what you're happy to sacrifice so you can write and keep going. Get into a routine. Be persistent. You’ll train your mind into accepting “oh this is writing time” and you’re then more inclined to get on with the job in hand. Doesn’t matter whether this is 10 minutes or 10 hours (though naturally the latter is more helpful for novel writing!). Use whatever little scraps of time you have to write notes, jot down story ideas etc. All those ten minutes here and there add up.
Use scraps of time to read.
Going to the dentists, doctors or anywhere you’ll have to wait for a while? I use that time to read. Reading helps writing. Train journeys are good for this too.
Time in your fiction.
Does the passing of time make sense in your tale? Have you checked for inconsistencies? Have you made your world come alive with seasons, the way days work and whether your characters work by whatever passes for day or night in your realm? Does your tale progress to a natural conclusion based on what’s gone on in your story? Your tale should have a series of peaks and troughs before reaching the climax at the end of the story. And the troughs must be as interesting as possible. They’re good places to drop in sub-plots and information your readers need to know but this should still be so interesting your readers won’t know it’s a trough.
Time for reading work through.
Always read through your finished work at least twice, with decent intervals in between. You will pick up different errors on each occasion I promise. You will also wonder why you didn’t see such errors before. Give yourself plenty of time for reading your work through so when you do send it out, you know it’s the best it can be.
Writing Time.
Your writing time is time for you. Having time for yourself should make you easier to live with so helps your relatives too - well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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