I used to think I could only write in the morning because that was when I was freshest. For example, the prison work inspired me to write psychological suspense, which led to a contract with Penguin.Īnother tip is to explore your ‘best’ writing time. You might well find that a paid part-time job actually feeds your writing. I also ran writing classes round my kitchen table and worked into the small hours as a tutor for online writing courses. Later, after my divorce, I took a job as a writer in a prison, which, again, helped pay the bills but gave me two days a week to write novels. For example, before I was published as an author, I used to write regular features for a women’s magazine in the morning and then spend my afternoons writing novels in the hope of getting published. Ideally, this job should be creative, otherwise you might find your soul being sucked out of you. If you don’t have a book contract that provides you with peace of mind, the best piece of advice I can offer is to have a part-time job that can just about pay the bills while giving you enough hours in the day to write. Financial concerns by Jane CorryĪs a writer, I’ve gone through periods of earning quite a lot of money and times when I‘ve rooted through my old handbags, hoping to find some spare change. He was selected for the WriteNow 2017 programme and is writing a memoir. And you don’t want your writing to be tiring, you want it to be inspiring. Set realistic goals and make sacrifices evenings or weekends but not both. Let yourself enjoy it but know that if you didn’t get any time off, you might end up resenting it and resenting something you love would be awful. Now, I’m cheating because this is really a combination of tip one and tip two, but balance is key. But I was exhausted, so didn’t write anything else for weeks and, the real kick to the gut, the chapter was edited out entirely, probably because I was more concerned with typing words to meet targets than to inspire readers. After seven precious weekend hours, I succeeded. I once told myself I wasn’t allowed to leave the library until I'd finished the chapter I was working on. This is where having an achievable plan comes in. That’s all well and good, I hear you say, but what if I listen to myself too much and never sit down to write? Good question (if I do say so myself), and the answer is in my second tip. There were certain evenings when I really felt like I should write but I didn’t want to. Whichever way you cut it, trying to write a book and maintain a job at the same time can feel like trying to ride a bicycle and write a book at the same time.įor this reason, my first tip is make sure you enjoy it. Work by Mohsin Zaidiįirst thing first: there is no magic formula. Sara Collins 's debut novel The Confessions of Frannie Langton was published in April 2019. Approach whatever that is in a spirit of acceptance, and you will build your novel, word by word. I suppose the best advice for busy parents who want to write is: do what you can, when you can. The only regret I have is that I left it so long. But you won’t write anything if you don’t start. If she had to write what she could fit in, you can too. I read once that Alice Munro wrote short stories instead of novels because as a mother of small children her time was measured in fragments. The second step is to accept your limitations. Mark it on your calendar think of it as making an appointment with your own ambition. Guided by that idea, you can schedule writing into whatever time you have to spare, without worrying about whether it’s enough. The first step is accepting that it might be slow, but that it will be possible. But after a milestone birthday, and my youngest child starting secondary school, my attitude changed. It’s no good having a room of your own if it’s forever being invaded by the demands of school drop-offs, or homework, or four out of five children ill with chicken pox at the same time as you have a major deal to negotiate at work. When my children were younger I worked full time as a lawyer, convinced that I’d always be too busy to attempt to write a novel.
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