My husband is on a fast road to recovery from his heart surgery (no longer requiring three meals a day delivered on trays upstairs and me hovering over him). So this past week I’ve rearranged my office book cases into categories. I’ve made the notes for a speech to give at an Author’s Luncheon in San Diego next Friday and found Mapquest directions on how to get there. My closet is as clean and organized as a Swiss watch.  I’m about to call 1-800-Got-Junk to have a garage full of stuff hauled away.  My students only need me Wednesday mornings, and once a month on Saturday, and my kids and grandkids on Sundays. And this leaves me with time.  Time that I’ve nailed down by drawing big X’s through the days on my calendar.  An X means it’s a writing day.  No lunches, no last minute errands, no house projects.  In other words, unless there’s an emergency, I’m going back to my novel and guarding my time like a watchdog. You can write a blog, keep a journal, and sometimes even write poems and essays with snatched moments, but you cannot write a book without a plan – dedicated days and discipline.

If you’re writing a book, what’s your plan?  If you don’t have one yet, or if you’re finding that you can’t find time to write even short pieces, try this: make an appointment with yourself on your calendar to write. Nine to noon everyday, or three days a week, or 8:30 am or pm to 9:30 or whatever you possibly can manage.  If you have a job, get up earlier ( a lot of successful writers have done this) or stay up later, or find a place to write during your lunch hour. Even if you have all the time in the world, write down the specific time you’re going to write and your quitting time too. (Having too much free time can create it’s own problems.) You’d never blow off a doctor’s appointment that you had on your calendar or a date to meet a friend, and this certainly is just as important, it’s your writing for God’s sake.  Don’t wait for inspiration, just keep your appointment with yourself. 

(And if you live in San Diego, come to the AAUW annual Author’s Luncheon on March 9^th.  I’ll be talking about the strange path to becoming a writer. Call Randa Blanding for details: 619-593-1528.)