Phantastic Phantasy Forum When Life gets between you and..

Hi all,
         Just had the working week from hell and I'm finding, as a part time author with family responsibilities, that it can be difficult juggling what I want, can and must do.
 I thought it might be interesting to  hear what people do (or don't do) to keep writing amidst the chaos of normal life.

Any thoughts?

Chris K

I'm very much in the same boat.  I have 2 young kids (4yrs and 1yr) and a job that can sometimes eat into my nights and weekends.  Luckily the kids go to bed at a reasonably early hour, so I can usually find at least 1 or 2 nights a week to fit in a couple hours of writing.  It's not much but I take it when I can get it. 

It's tough too when things are so busy, I find stress is counteractive to creativity.  Sometimes I need to just take a night off to relax so that maybe the next night (assuming there will be time) I feel up to writing.
 

I've invested in a little Linux netbook. (I am  notorious  for my slow and illegible handwriting) For years I never went anywhere with pen and A4 notebook and this served me well when I travelledd  by train everywhere, but since moving to Brisbane I have been forced to drive instead, (bad public transport in West Brissy,) so I use coffee breaks in my day job as a merchandiser and write then. (This is lunch right now.)
I also write at night when the nectar of inspiration comes out. (That and a cold beer.)
The worst thing I find is to  dwell on what's done. My novel is awaiting a reply from a publisher, (a ten week wait) and if I can't write something new in the mean time then I believe I shall lose my mind.
So with  Netbook replacing paper and pen, I guess the answer is, I write wherever and whenever I can.

Chris K

Jeez, where do I start? As you all may know, writing often requires your full attention, at least it does with me. So does school, unfortunately for me Ive still got a long while until  I get out :'(. I, not wanting to participate too much, just ignore school work at most times and focus on writing, merely because I feel I have to. Though I know this isnt good... Mlah... Thats why I really hate school.

I wrote to Robin Hobb (of The Farseer Trilogy and Liveship Trilogy fame) once and asked her for advice on writing. One of the things she said was to just make sure you keep writing. That you at least squeeze in a half hour a day on your written work to keep moving and review what you'd done. I found that interesting. And difficult.   I have the same kids/work/non-existent time factors as you guys. Full time writing would be so much easier... provided I could live without food, money and... y'know, stuff.   Heh.