Why Some Writers Need To Be Thieves

How often have you heard or read a writer saying that Time is the enemy? If only I had more time, I could finish my novel. If I had more time, I'd have a bigger amoutn of work published. If I had the time, I could be a great writer. We've heard it, maybe we've even made similar statements on occasion. 

Does it mean we're looking for an excuse? Or does it mean we haven't learned how to organize our time? Maybe both or perhaps neither one. People live incredibly busy lives. It's why the term multitask came into vogue. We're so busy that we end up doing two or more things at once. Chicken Soup even has a new book topic on the Multitasking Mom. 

So that's a given. We're all busy with jobs, raising kids, keeping a house, giving time to spouses and kids or grandkids. Each one of those things I listed take an enormous amount of time, so where in the world are you going to find time to write?

Steal it! If you are passionate about writing, you'll need to look for ways to nab some time for yourself like a thief in the night. Night? Now, there's a place where you can steal a bit of writing time. It means you might get to bed a little later than you'd like, or perhaps it means rolling out of bed while the moon is still up and your family is sound asleep. Think how quiet your house is after everyone else has gone to bed or when none of them has awakened yet. The perfect time to write.

Steal a little time when the kids are at preschool. You know you should probably mop the kitchen floor or vacuum the whole house while they're gone and it's peaceful. But look at that block of time you have that could be used for writing. Do the household chores later when the kids are there. Better yet, find a way they can help out, too.

Writers who are mothers keep notebook and pen handy so they can jot down story ideas or even work on a writing project while they wait in line to pick up their kids after school. They use the time in a doctor's waiting room to write. Forget those months-old magazines on the table by the sitting area there. There are other short blocks of time you can grab. Think about your day and where they might be.

When you steal time to write, it may not be hours long. At times, it might be only minutes. But those ten and fifteen minutes done on a regular basis add up. Sure, we'd all like to have hours at a time to sit down and write. If you make a living as a writer, you can justify that and rightly so. But if you are a part time writer, you may have to be a thief to have enough time to write. 

Go ahead and steal what you can without any guilt whatsoever.