I don’t know about you but when I don’t get the opportunity to write each day, I begin to feel the nag of writer’s guilt. This writer’s guilt is no subtle little poke, but a blaring scream. Everything reminds me that I need to write, but life rushes on. When I don’t write I end up half-engaged in all of my daily activities until I get the time to get the words out. It’s like I have programed myself to judge a day’s success on whether I put words on the page or not.
Now, I love to write but I also love my family. I don’t want to be that distant husband or father figure whose wife and kids know only by reading his work. I want to be present. That means I must sequester my writing time to the tail end of the day or early in the morning, which means I cut out an hour or three of sleep.
My peak writing time is usually in the morning. I LOVE early mornings where nothing is about but my mind. When I can get up, write in my journal, read my Bible, enjoy a cup of coffee with a five minute slice of peace and write five hundred words, life is bliss. There is almost nothing that can happen in the day to break this shield of accomplishment. I like to roll out of bed around 6:30am to accomplish all of this. However, when I had kids, this changed.
Finding time to write is hard. In the world of parenthood sleep is not guaranteed and like most real life humans when I am robbed of it I get cranky. However, I must write. Such a conundrum, but one that offers a harsh answer. Keep going, get up, and write. For the writer there is no rest. I had better get used to that.
Cheers,
Bob
PART-TIME NOVEL 
I was never blessed with children, so I can only sympathize with you … but, on the absolute need to write, I’m with you ALL the way! I don’t very often get much sleep either – in my case, because of pain – but once I get that part calmed down a little, middle of the night is great writing time for me! LOL! ~ Happy writing, and enjoy the journey! ~ Julie 🙂
Julie, I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with pain. That is much deeper than my silly complaints.
I congratulate you on your continued determination to battle through!
Enjoy the journey is a great motto! I might have to steal that and use it as a blog post, if that is alright with you :). I can get a little too intense at times.
Bob, thank you, but not to worry – chronic pain and health issues are not going away, so I’ve just found ways to work around them when I’m able to … and although I had another bad night last night, I did meet 2 writing deadlines today – actually, I’m early with both of them … plus I got a few more boxes packed today, so it’s been a good day! 🙂
And yes, you can steal the “enjoy the journey” – I’m sure I got it from somewhere else a long time ago, and it always makes me smile when I read it. 🙂
Excellent, well done on the writing and packing. I hope the move goes smoothly when it comes!
Bob, I’m totally with you on this post. I got up early today to write. It was tough. My eyelids felt like they weighed 1,000 pounds, but it was worth it. Now I can be fully present with my family tonight without having the craving to write bouncing around in the back of my mind.
Keep going, my friend!
Andrew! I need to do this. Thanks for sharing. It rallies my spirit to join you. Keep going as well.
I know what you mean. Ive found that the best time for peace is in the evening when the kids are in bed, but then my time with my wife is also valuable so it’s a balancing act. In the end, if you really want to do something you’ll do it. You’ll find a way. There is no other choice.
Thanks. I have tried to use this blog to encourage others, but I find tremendous encouragement from you and other readers. Thanks for following, I really do appreciate your input. Thank you for another well thought out comment per usual.
As I’m sure you can guess, I get up early in the morning to write. I was always an early riser, which helped, but with kids, it became a necessity if I want uninterrupted writing time.
My muse takes time to warm up, so even though I’m at my computer at 4, I’m really not writing anything of substance until about 4:30. I feel satisfied when I can get 2 hours of writing in. It’s as fulfilling as a good cup o’ joe and a bracing hot shower. I feel much better the rest of the day knowing I got that accomplished.
I’m sure you’re doing the best you can and it sounds like your family is very supportive. 🙂
Yes, they are unbelievably supportive. I never would have finished my novel without my wife’s help.
I read on your blog that you write from 4-6ish and let me say that is amazing. I applaud your commitment! I hope to get up early tomorrow. I probably should have skipped that last cup of coffee at 9…