Finding time to create your own novel, short story, or whatever else can be increasingly difficult. As the demands of life force school, work, and other responsibilities upon us, it can be hard to find ways to fit in our passion for words. When I worked, went to class, and was building my home, finding hours in the day for me to work on my craft were few and far between. But I believe there is a way to find time to get words on the page as often as you can, which I’ll explain below.

Make It Routine

One of the biggest reasons why I got my second novel, Caerule, worked on during these difficult times was because every morning I would get up and get writing done before work or school. On good days, I was able to give myself an hour, usually sometime around five or six in the morning, and listen to music, enjoy tea, and write. The time crunch seemed to inspire me to get more on the page, and before I knew it, my second book’s rough draft was finished, all from a collection of early mornings. 

The key was, of course, making it a routine. Once it became habit, it became easier and easier to get up each day and get work done. 

Limit Distractions

One of the reasons I chose mornings for my daily writing time was because there were no distractions. The birds, often times, were not even out yet. I was alone, and I was awake alone. I didn’t check social media until my writing time was up, and instead I just woke up, made my tea and breakfast, and got to work. I often pulled up one of my writing playlists, but some days, the stillness of the world helped me hear the characters and their struggles much easier. If you can reduce how much there is around you to pull your attention away from your craft, you’ll get more done, and you’ll finish that book sooner.

Change Your Scenery

Before the pandemic, one of my habits was writing for three or so hours at a coffee shop after church. I would get myself some tea and camp out somewhere comfortable for hours as I got work done. Often, I wouldn’t give myself access to the internet, and I would just work. If I needed a word, I carried a mini thesaurus with me. If I needed to research something, I always had my phone. The change of my environment helped me get away from home, and since my house was a construction zone, it helped me get away from all the other jobs I had to get done. It gave me the permission to spend my time only being creative. And considering it had yet another time crunch — DnD at 3 — it helped me stay on task. 

Be Kind To Yourself

Do you think I got up every morning and had a full hour to work? Most definitely not. There were days I needed the extra sleep, or days I didn’t feel well, or days I just couldn’t get myself to focus on my craft. Instead of having an hour to work, sometimes I’d have fifteen minutes, or less, to get what I wanted to get done.

The key with these days are to be kind to yourself. No one is perfect, and no routine is without hiccups. Life happens sometimes, be that the cat needing to go out, or falling ill, or being called in early to work. Give yourself breaks, and allow yourself to make mistakes. Beating yourself up for missing a writing day will not make the upcoming times any easier. It’ll make it feel more of a chore, and instead of making writing a habit, you might very well make beating yourself up a habit. Not every author writes each day. And that’s more than okay. 

You may have noticed, as I have writing this, that I tend to write best with a bit of a time crunch. This isn’t something that’ll work for everyone. For me, it seems knowing that I cannot write after a certain time helps me stay on task. Additionally, I also tend to set small goals and rewards for myself. I say, when I finish this chapter, I’ll make myself cookies, or celebrate in other ways. My current goal is to finish my third book’s rough draft before the end of the year. But if I miss that goal, it is important for me not to punish myself. For me, that can easily eat away at my creativity if a punishment is looming in the horizon. No, if I miss my self-made deadlines, I set another, and strive to reach it with all I have. And when I ultimately do, I pour myself a cup of some fancy tea, and let myself celebrate my victory.