Making Writing a Daily Habit

Making Writing a Daily Habit, by Melissa Foster

As with anything in which you hope to succeed, whether it’s sports, parenting, or practicing law, writing takes practice, and practice takes time.

Making time for writing is not always easy. I have six children, and I had a heck of a time fitting writing into my daily schedule. Even while the children were in school, it seemed other obligations stole the time away. There came a time when I had to make a decision and make writing a priority—to hone my craft as much as save my sanity.

There are things in life that must get done in a timely fashion, like grocery shopping and preparing meals, but there are other things that can be done at odd hours without causing even a ripple in one’s day, such as laundry and cleaning. Reorganizing my mindset helped me to reprioritize my days, allowing for several hours that could be solely dedicated to writing.

I wrote Megan’s Way, in its entirety, while sitting in my kitchen at a makeshift desk with a new puppy at my feet. There were days when I had several hours to write, and days when I had only half an hour, squeezed between picking up children from school and going over homework. While writing Chasing Amanda, I was able to write for five hours each day while the kids were at school, and I simply reprioritized what time of day household chores and exercise took place.

Our lives might be driven by family and other commitments, but as writers, we owe it to ourselves, and to our readers, to find the time to write, and to recognize the value in accomplishing what we set out to achieve. Just as we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, writing time must be scheduled and seen as a necessary part of our days.

I love to chat with book clubs and readers. If you’d like to chat, drop me an email; thinkhappygirl (at) yahoo (dot) com