Tasha’s Tips for The Aspiring Writer: Make Time Where You Can, When You Can

[Editor's Note: FlashFiction.Net will be publishing tips from Tasha Cotter, one every Monday, for twenty weeks: Tip 1.]

My goal for this series of blog posts is for writers to save themselves a lot of time and frustration. This series is meant to get you on the path toward publication, provided you put in the work of writing and revising. Don't worry if you don't follow all these recommendations--who could? I'll be the first to admit that even I'm guilty of sometimes not using my time wisely--look for my tip on social media! But overall this series contains hard-won truths on how to make writing a bigger part of your life. I hope it clarifies the publishing guidelines, professional etiquette, and protocols you may have been unsure about in the past. More than anything, I hope it puts you on track toward opportunities you may not have imagined.

                                        —Tasha
                                        Twitter: @TashCotter

Perhaps what frustrates writers more than anything else is being haunted by the idea that they have to have a daily writing schedule. They agonize about having to wake up at 4 a.m. Monday through Friday to write for a couple of hours before going to a job or getting their kids ready for school. And then there are writers who feel that in order to write anything of any merit they must adhere to a strict schedule of writing 6-8 hours a day, if not more. People seem to need absolutes.

I don't think one schedule is better than the other, but if you feel you must have a dedicated schedule, you may be setting yourself up for failure. After all, it's so easy to lose an hour of planned writing time and feel guilty about it later. Oftentimes, the side effect of not adhering to a strict schedule seems to spiral into your missing another day, or another hour. And what happens when vacation time rolls around and you don't write for four or five days? Panic creeps in, and pretty soon you begin to second-guess your identity, or who you thought you were, or if you can really even call yourself a writer!

I'm convinced that if you want to make writing a long-term commitment you need to be okay with imperfection. I've learned its best not to panic if I've not written for a day, or five days. Try to be adaptable to your situation. Many writers have full-time or part-time jobs and some are raising a family. I've worked two jobs while trying to write a poetry collection, not worked while learning to write a novel, and held a full-time job in education while trying to simultaneously place my second full-length poetry collection with a publisher, polish a novel, and finish a nonfiction book.

Life is full of obstacles and choices are rarely straight-forward. In fact, during the work week, it's rare for me to get a solid hour of time to actually write, but I've learned not to take the all-or-nothing approach—now I write where I can and when I can. This change of attitude has helped temper that panicky feeling of not having a dedicated schedule—life is too unpredictable for me to try to schedule writing. Here are some ways I steal time to write:

1. Before or after work (this is usually after, as I'm not a morning person at all.)
2. During lunch breaks—the occasional 45 minutes to explore an idea, reread, and rewrite.
3. Doctor's offices, waiting rooms, and lobbies, in general.
4. Weekends—this is usually the best time for me, as I'm usually feeling pretty drained by the time I get home from work Monday-Friday.

In my experience, too many writers beat themselves up if they miss a day of writing. And I understand that mindset, because it is important to make writing a part of your life if you hope to complete a book, but realize that it's okay for schedules to change and to not let one bad day ruin a whole week.

I once heard the former Poet Laureate Billy Collins talk about his own writing process—it didn't surprise me that he didn't write every day. Poetry seems as much inspiration as dedication. Novel-writing and long-form nonfiction writing seem to demand a daily interaction with the page, if only to remain mindful of the plot, characters, and world of the work. But if your schedule doesn't allow a daily writing practice, then try to think more creatively about how to interact with your work even if not writing. Maybe this means writing one day and re-reading what you wrote the next day. Or rather than writing a scene in your novel, spend the time re-reading the chapter for a fresh perspective. In general, try to keep your head in the game, even if your fingers aren't near a keyboard.

Tasha Cotter, @TashCotter, is a poet and fiction writer based in Lexington, Kentucky. She is the author of two chapbooks of poetry and the full-length collection, Some Churches (Gold Wake Press, 2013). You can find her online at www.tashacotter.com.