Time to Write

Guess I'm not a real writer. Real, professional writers sit down in their computer chairs at a certain time every day and write because that is what writers do. Even when they don't feel like writing, they sit down and write. But even the "real" writers often find they can think of a million other things they should or want to do in the hour they planned to write. I check email first and that is a killer of my small time allotment. By the time I answer my email, my hour is about gone, and then I feel like I don't have the time to write because I don't enjoy writing in short spurts. I want time to become completely engrossed in my project. If I only have twenty minutes, I won't have time to get my brain in gear before I have to do chores, go to the dentist, clean up the kitchen, or the hordes of other things that take up my day.
So that is why I find myself staying up late at night after my husband is asleep, when the house is finally quiet. The TV is off and I have blessed silence for as long as I can keep my eyes open.
That's been my writing schedule for some time now. That time after midnight when the telephone doesn't ring, the dog is asleep,the cat is quiet in my big chair, and I am positive nobody will interrupt my thoughts.
That is also the time I sometimes send emails to our e-group. Once Jerry Hobbs emailed: "You couldn't sleep, huh?" He saw the time on the email I had sent the night before, 1:30 a.m. I think it was.

The problem of finding the time to write if you aren't a paid writer working for a paycheck seems to be a huge obstacle to writers. Classes are held on "How to Find Time to Write."
I'm reading Time to Write, a book with the advice of 100 professional writers telling how they do it. I'm sure if I had a deadline for my next novel and an editor breathing down my neck, I'd priortize my daily schedule a bit more carefully and writing would be in the Number One spot. But since I couldn't pay for all the How-to-Write books I buy with the money I've made writing, it is extremely hard to ignore my husband,let the laundry pile up, the bills go unpaid, let my friends talk to the answering machine, and let the refrigerator sit empty when we are out of milk and eggs. I can't do that and lose myself in writing a poem or essay. But I know I should. Every day I don't write, I grieve over another day that has passed without meeting my goals. My goals for this year include my goal for last year. Publish a book of poetry.
I'd love to hear from our members or other readers on how you make the time to write. I do think men find it easier to find time to write than women. In a session on writer's block and finding time to write, only one man showed up. He left before the class was half over. I just don't think he had the problem of the fifty women in the group who readily voiced their complaints. For one thing, I know he didn't have a husband at home who didn't like to watch TV alone.

Fireside Friday at the Shoppes of Murphy next Friday night. Three Netwest writers are featured along with all who bring something to read at open mic. "Like a sixties coffee house"
Come and enjoy and support our writers. Paul Donovan is the host.