Friday, September 21, 2012

Full-time Writer

I've been a full-time writer for a while now. Really since 2009 when I actively pursued publication. But even though I was writing full-time, it didn't really sink in that this is my job. Sure I told people I wrote for a living, but it felt like something was missing.

Writers don't get up and go to an office to write all day. Well, I'm sure some writers do have offices, but I don't. I write from my couch or my dining room table. And for years, I've been working my writing schedule around my daughter and my husband. Now, I have the house to myself for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. I miss my daughter terribly while she's at school, but for the first time, I feel like a full-time writer.

I originally thought I'd have to set a schedule for myself to pass the time, but those hours get filled so quickly. My day flies by. I've been editing and I'll sit at my computer for hours on end. My poor eyes can vouch for that. I got headaches the first two days.

Will I be a better writer now that I have so much time to write? Maybe. But one thing is for sure: I'm a full-time writer, and that makes me a very happy person.

Are you a full-time writer? If so, can you easily fill the hours in front of the computer? If not, how do you make time for your writing?

60 comments:

  1. As a student it can be tough. You start thinking about that essay that's due or the reading you must do and sometimes finding time can just be plain hard when you have other assignments looming over your head. I honestly just try to carve writing time in when I can. Even if it's 11 at night after things have settled or 3 pm before class.

    My awesome CP Nazarea recently told me about writing Apps. For Android there is one called Writer and for the iphone there is Pages. These apps are great for taking those spare minutes you have and turning them into words! :D

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    1. Very cool! I haven't heard of these. Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth.

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  2. I wish I could call myself full-time, but I'm squeezing the minutes in with two little ones at home all day. I have to make the magic happen during naps or when everyone has gone to bed.

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    1. Yes, that's been my life until this year. I know what that's like. (Tough!)

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  3. I have two young children, and my writing has to be done around their schedule. I can only imagine what it'll be like when the start school. In the meantime, I do the best I can with limited time.

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    1. I did the same. It's funny how I still don't have enough time though.

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  4. My goal is for writing to be my full-time job someday. Someday soon, I hope! For now I have a full-time job outside of the home. My kids are in school all day, so the only sense I would be working around their schedule is when I help them with homework. My husband works half the time in London than he does here in Frankfurt, so you might say I've got double parent duty as well, but it also means I could write late at night if I had the energy to.

    I will be a full-time writer. It's my goal, and I always go after my goals. And when I reach it, I will LOVE it!

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  5. I'll get there. Right now I work fulltime, write during lunch and in inbetween hanging out with my son n hubby. Whether I work fulltime or write fulltime, I want to write at least two books a year.

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  6. No, writing is my fourth job. And the last on the list of priorities, but I am efficient and a workaholic, so I get to it a lot. :)

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  7. I get to be a full time writer in the summer months, while school is out. But right now, I feel in over my head, juggling the demands of the beginning of the teaching year and still trying to blog, crit, write, and gear up for book launch promotions. Thankfully, my family is very supportive and my two daughters are old enough to help around the house.

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    1. Having a supportive family does help. Good luck to you, Dianne!

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  8. I am a full time writer of code. :D

    What I really want to do is write more comprehensive stuff that normal people read. As it is now, I only get to write stuff that other programmers or engineers understand.

    If I could write fiction full time, I'd end up using half the time doing research for my scenes, a fourth of the time emailing and socializing with friends and family, and then finally, I'd get some writing done.

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    1. LOL. I make myself write first and then I use spare time for everything else.

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    2. And that is why you finish your novels! :D

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  9. I write almost full-time, though I also teach a writing class every semester. I love doing the class because it gets me out of the house (and out of my pajamas), gets me to interact with people, and gives me a chance to tackle craft issues with like-minded folks. But I must say that having the summer off to just write is also nice--though it takes a little getting used to.

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    1. I can see what you're saying. And time away from the computer is good too!

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  10. Good for you, Kelly! I'm a full-time "starving" writer. I'm so far, not very good at it. I do have 3 PB's coming out but I keep finding things in my day to interrupt my writing. This is my first year of writing full-time though so I know with time, I'll get better at it.

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    1. Congrats, Allyn! You'll be busy when they come out.

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  11. I wor part time as an adjunct writing professor at an art college, and I also teach writing for teens at a private workshop, so I write around that schedule. Right now is busy time, what with the start of the school semester. The great part of teaching is that I get summers off to write. I find that I am almost more organized when my time is partly spoken for. Go figure!
    Catherine Stine’s Idea City

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  12. That has to be the best feeling, to write full time. :-) I work outside the home and while at home have a child like most, oh and a husband. I write on lunches and after I wrestle my dear daughter to sleep -usually really late. It feels like a part time job that I get no return on at the moment, other then stress relief. Which I think makes it worth while.

    I think even if I was full time I'd find something to distract me... like blogging :-)

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    1. I try to keep distractions to a minimum. I'm really hard on myself that way.

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  13. I'm so jealous. I work full time- gotta pay the bills- but I'm aspiring to be a full time writer. Right now I fit working on my story into my lunch time and a little editing before work. I also have my journal at my desk for quick story notes and world building.

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    1. Good for you, Auden. I keep a journal on me at all times too.

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  14. I'm a full time student and I work a part time job, so I'm not exactly a full time writer. I usually take any spare moment I can get!

    I hope you're able to get a lot of writing done!

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  15. First of all, congrats. :) You are already an awesome writer, now you just have more time for awesomeness. :) I call myself a part-time writer because my "full-time" job is a toddler and a husband. But since I've only been actively perusing publication for a little over a year, I totally understand it not sinking in that it's your job. I still smile when I say I'm going to go "work" for a while. It's too fun to be a job. (At least so far)

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    1. It's the best job—along with being Mom. I love that job too!

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  16. I am not a full time writer, but I have dreams of a fully staffed villa on Barcelona so I can be. In the meantime I write between conference calls, in cafes, and by the light of the moon. I fit my life around writing. I never thought of myself as a writer or how I would manage it between a more than full time job, a family, and all that other white noise in a person's life, but I have. My family is wonderful, too. They never complained when I made subtle changes around the house. The saddest aspect of writing was losing some friends along the way. They didn't understand why I wasn't always available for meet ups and lng chats on the phone. I hadn't expected this but I wouldn't change anything about my zany life now. And congrats, Kelly, on living your dream.

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    1. I think you make your schedule work really well, Brenda. :)

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  17. I am a full time writer now although I volunteer at my kids' school 2 times a week, eating into my writing (not complaining) and I hit the gym 3 times a week. I need to be more organized and productive.

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    1. I volunteer at my daughter's school too. That's one of the perks of being a full-time writer. I'm here to help at her school and be there for her.

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  18. I wish I could be a full time wrier, but as the family breadwinner, I work 45-60 hours a week, and try to spend at least a little bit of time with the kids every day. So writing time is stolen in the early morning and late night and odd day off here and there. At least with both kids at school now I get one full day and one half day to write, although I usually have to squeeze grocery shopping and cleaning the house in there too.

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    1. Wow, I really admire you, Kate. You have a full plate and still manage to write. Good for you.

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  19. You're living my dream. I wish I were a full time writer. enjoy it, and keep typing.

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    1. I am enjoying it. Even with all these deadlines screaming at me. LOL

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  20. Since I retired from teaching I've been a full time writer. I consider it my job now, but no one else (think husband) does and I get a lot of interruptions. I still have a schedule. Can't take the teacher out of me completely. :)

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    1. I hear you. I don't teach any more either, but I still schedule everything, have a day planner, and work like a mad woman. :)

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  21. I'm not full-time, but when I'm on vacation I write most of the day. The time does fly by.

    Maybe someday I'll be full-time...

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  22. My full-time job is being a teacher and it takes up a lot of time all year long (even the summer gets busy with preparing for the next school year). I have to pay the bills, and I do love being a teacher. Still, I would love to be a full-time writer. But, until that time comes I write whenever I can and don't exactly have a schedule set up- it is more what I can fit in, when I can fit it in. :)

    I am so happy for you and the time you have to write!

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    1. Thanks, Stephanie. :) I admire people who can manage full-time jobs and writing.

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  23. I fill my hours quickly because I write in the mornings & afternoons and tutor in the evenings. Sometimes it can get overwhelming and I'd need to take a break from writing. Congrats on feeling like a full-time writer! (You've been a full-time longer than you think, given how focused and committed you are to your work.)

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    1. Aw, thank, Claudine. That's sweet of you to say. :)

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  24. Until just a couple months ago I was writing around my full-time design job which required two hours of commuting a day, so I was fitting in my writing at lunch, late nights and weekends. Recently though I have been on traveling with my husband on the road for his trucking job, so I am taking the opportunity to write full time and consider it my job at the moment. As you can imagine I fit the hours in pretty well on the truck trying to research and write. At the moment I am unsure how long the gift of full-time writing will remain, so I am taking full advantage.

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    1. Enjoy it! And you can write in the truck? I wish I could do that but I get motion sickness. Take advantage of that time.

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    2. Haha, there was an adjustment period, but I do well now :)

      Thank you

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    3. At least you got used to it. I really wish I could, but it makes me sick every time I try.

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  25. Well done with writing full time now. Looking forward to reading your books!

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  26. I tutor in the evenings, but it's part time, which gives me a few hours each morning to set aside for writing. At first, I was lazy about it (really lazy), but then I realized how lucky I am to have the luxury of a few spare hours each day to just... WRITE. Not everyone has that.

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  27. I have to balance writing against academic responsibilities, but I get in enough time on campus or elsewhere that I can keep up with the writing that I have to do.

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  28. Family does come first for me. There are days when I can get a full day of writing in, and other days where I'm lucky to just jot notes down.
    It is nice when you have the house to yourself. Those were the days when I got so much writing done.

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