Finding a writing schedule that works is hard, and I appreciate that you’re able to share yours without preaching the gospel of it. 😂 I usually carve out some time on the weekends for writing fiction. I often feel guilty for not doing more, but I’m a full time copywriter and want to unwind after work like everyone else. A writer bragged on Twitter that she works full time and then spends 21 hours a week writing fiction on top of that. She’s more successful than me but unless I have a contract and an advance, it’s not worth it to me to burn myself out. And her books sounded boring to me anyway.
There’s a time to romanticize the grind, and a time to give yourself a break.
I’ve found that creative pursuits tend to be the hardest sort of work to do when you’re tired/hungry/etc., and yes, I’m aware of how spoiled that sounds (haha), but I also think it’s true—it’s a lot easier to “push yourself” on stuff that only requires low-level thinking. The body is built for work; the brain is a lazy slob.
It also seems to be true that people get their best ideas when they’re engaged in mindless tasks—housework, gardening, bathing, etc.—which seems to suggest that “not doing creative stuff” is actually an integral part of the ✨creative process.✨
So, I dunno. For the moment, at least, I like having a guilt-free system in place—one that allows me to write when the muse shows up and get other stuff done when she doesn’t.
That said, though, any system you set up will eventually become one you’re very good at “gaming.” So it’s important to switch things up every once in a while, as well. :)
When I worked as an assembly technician, or as a stable hand, I was busy with physical work which freed up my mind for creative things. (Is usually fell asleep pretty quickly when I got home from the horse farm, so it didn’t leave me extra time for writing.) The trouble is that those jobs didn’t pay enough. Writing really is the only thing I’m good at. And spending my days trying to make things like sequence of returns risk sound interesting saps the creative energy from my brain. So, Saturdays it is.
I know it's hack to reference Stephen King's memoir On Writing, but it really resonated with me when he talked about working at an industrial laundry service, and hating it, but finding plenty of energy to write at the end of the day...till he landed the teaching gig he'd always thought he wanted, and suddenly found himself too mentally exhausted to ever write. That was my experience as well, more or less—when I worked in warehousing, I could bang out ten pages a night; once I started teaching, I gave up writing almost completely for several years.
I’ll have to check that out. Did he go back to the laundry? Finding another farm job or manufacturing job might be tempting if I weren’t behind on saving for retirement. My grandma lived to be 99. I need to save a lot more to reach that age without running out of money, and 99 year old me won’t be very happy with current me if I throw away a good salary to pursue art. So I write fiction on weekends and it takes me longer to finish things. My novel took three years. But so what? 99 year old me shouldn’t have to suffer through life in a cut-rate nursing home just so current me can complete novels in a third of the time.
Finding a writing schedule that works is hard, and I appreciate that you’re able to share yours without preaching the gospel of it. 😂 I usually carve out some time on the weekends for writing fiction. I often feel guilty for not doing more, but I’m a full time copywriter and want to unwind after work like everyone else. A writer bragged on Twitter that she works full time and then spends 21 hours a week writing fiction on top of that. She’s more successful than me but unless I have a contract and an advance, it’s not worth it to me to burn myself out. And her books sounded boring to me anyway.
There’s a time to romanticize the grind, and a time to give yourself a break.
I’ve found that creative pursuits tend to be the hardest sort of work to do when you’re tired/hungry/etc., and yes, I’m aware of how spoiled that sounds (haha), but I also think it’s true—it’s a lot easier to “push yourself” on stuff that only requires low-level thinking. The body is built for work; the brain is a lazy slob.
It also seems to be true that people get their best ideas when they’re engaged in mindless tasks—housework, gardening, bathing, etc.—which seems to suggest that “not doing creative stuff” is actually an integral part of the ✨creative process.✨
So, I dunno. For the moment, at least, I like having a guilt-free system in place—one that allows me to write when the muse shows up and get other stuff done when she doesn’t.
That said, though, any system you set up will eventually become one you’re very good at “gaming.” So it’s important to switch things up every once in a while, as well. :)
When I worked as an assembly technician, or as a stable hand, I was busy with physical work which freed up my mind for creative things. (Is usually fell asleep pretty quickly when I got home from the horse farm, so it didn’t leave me extra time for writing.) The trouble is that those jobs didn’t pay enough. Writing really is the only thing I’m good at. And spending my days trying to make things like sequence of returns risk sound interesting saps the creative energy from my brain. So, Saturdays it is.
I know it's hack to reference Stephen King's memoir On Writing, but it really resonated with me when he talked about working at an industrial laundry service, and hating it, but finding plenty of energy to write at the end of the day...till he landed the teaching gig he'd always thought he wanted, and suddenly found himself too mentally exhausted to ever write. That was my experience as well, more or less—when I worked in warehousing, I could bang out ten pages a night; once I started teaching, I gave up writing almost completely for several years.
I’ll have to check that out. Did he go back to the laundry? Finding another farm job or manufacturing job might be tempting if I weren’t behind on saving for retirement. My grandma lived to be 99. I need to save a lot more to reach that age without running out of money, and 99 year old me won’t be very happy with current me if I throw away a good salary to pursue art. So I write fiction on weekends and it takes me longer to finish things. My novel took three years. But so what? 99 year old me shouldn’t have to suffer through life in a cut-rate nursing home just so current me can complete novels in a third of the time.
You’re telling me you’re a writer who’s actually thought about finances? Far out, man.
Been a while since I read the book, but I think he ended up toughing it out as a teacher till his writing got profitable.
The company I work for is in the financial planning industry, so I have to think about it whether I want to or not.