One of the hardest things about writing is figuring out how to make time for it.
In my situation, I’m taking the UCLA Extension one-hour spec writing class online for that simple reason. If I weren’t taking the class, I probably wouldn’t find the time to write. Taking the class gives me accountability. If I don’t write my synopsis this week, I miss the deadline. If I miss the deadline, I get a poor grade. If I get a poor grade, I have to admit to myself that I’ve failed in front of others. Plus I’ve wasted my money. That’s incentive.
I’m also studying for the GRE, which I’m taking in a little over three weeks. I also have a business to run to keep my bank account in the black and support my writing-class-taking habit. So it’s easy to tell myself that I can’t make the time.
Guess what? With this week’s class deadline looming, somehow I did. I just wrote my Bull synopsis while sitting in front of Family Feud.
So, my top three recommendations on how to make time?
- Pay money to take a class. That way, you have people watching you meet your deadline. You have a grade lurking in your future to tell you you’ve succeeded or not.
- Make your environment as relaxed as possible. If it makes you uncomfortable not to have distractions like the TV, have that TV on. Nothing summons the staring-at-a-blank-screen spectre as effectively as setting aside time, religiously eliminating all possible distractions, and “preparing” yourself to sit down for half an hour and stare at a blank screen.
- Relax. Know that whatever you write can be rewritten. Especially if you’re doing this on a computer, nothing is ever set in stone.
Incidentally, my working title for my Bull episode is “Making Time”. I’ve just submitted a rough synopsis, and we’ll see what changes are made through feedback.
So, go ahead and relax. Make the time. You can do it. I promise.
Naomi Vondell, Writer 