The title of this post comes from an online workshop I did with crime/thriller writer Ellie Marney at GenreCon in 2022—a workshop that was so helpful, I’m still thinking about it four years later.
I live-tweeted her tips at the Bad Place (aka the site formerly known as Twitter) while I was doing it, but unfortunately my account has since been hacked and then suspended for goodness knows what. I also posted a few of them to this blog in this post, but it wasn’t a comprehensive recap.
Fortunately I saved all my tweets and I figured that it would be useful for me to post them to my blog so they’re here for posterity and I can also refer people to them.
As I said at the time,
… it really meant a lot to me that Marney was coming at the topic from the position of working part-time, writing part-time and being a mum of four boys, instead of a privileged male author who has someone else to take care of all the house and kid stuff for him and who lays down the law about writing every day just because, without taking the time to explore why that can be impossible for some. Marney didn’t lay down the law; instead, she gave us some things to try, with the caveat that not every tip will suit our particular situation and that some things will only work for a time, and then it’s worth trying something else.
All material here is obviously owned by Ellie Marney, and if she ever runs the workshop again, you should do it. Anyway, here are my notes:
Now doing the “Finding time to write when you’re busy” seminar with crime writer Ellie Marney.
Ellie Marney has a friend who writes daily To Do lists, but also once a quarter, lists everything she’s managed to accomplish during that quarter.
Doing this makes you appreciate how hard you actually work.
Ellie Marney is now giving us five minutes to write down a precis of what our weeks typically look like.
Theoretically, I should have stacks of writing time :/
Ellie Marney says it’s good to acknowledge how much you’re doing & how hard you’re already working. Also, sometimes an already busy life cannot absorb more.
Sometimes busy-ness comes in waves. Sometimes you just need to take time off for writing. It’s okay to do that. The beauty of writing is that you can do it for your entire life (unlike, say, dance). Writing will wait for you.
Now we’re listing the hurdles & roadblocks that get in the way of our writing (things other than lack of time)—e.g. lack of energy, lack of focus, the emotional labour involved in parenting & romantic relationships, etc.
Think about what you could cut back. Ellie doesn’t recommend cutting back on sleep, exercise or time with loved ones. But there may be things we can trim (eg social media use, TV watching, hobbies, writing emails etc.)
Late night or early mornings work for some, but not for others. Early mornings are hard when you have young kids. Late nights often don’t work if you have teens. You need to plan not just around your preferences, but the preferences of those you live with.
You can try doing late nights or early mornings for short periods of time when you need to get things done. But be sure not to burn yourself out.
Use your time confetti (my term, not hers)—eg time spent waiting in doctor’s offices or for trains or Saturday sport. Bring your laptop or notebook & use those short chunks of time for writing.
Even better, plan how you’re going to use them for short tasks, eg dialogue for a particular scene; how to describe this house; researching something. Don’t expect to sink too deep into your project during this time, but use it well.
(Related): plan ahead what you want to get done with the time you have. Ellie says if she knows she has 3x40min chunks during the week & 2hrs on the weekend, she will use the 40min chunks to do things like for 3. so that she is ready & primed when she gets to the 2-hr block.
Prioritise & use your time wisely. Hence the planning for that 2hr block so you don’t end up spending it answering emails or scheduling social media or doing housework or procrastinating.
(I need to do this more.)
Thinking is also writing, plus you can do it anywhere. Especially good when you’re doing repetitive tasks (eg housework) that don’t require your brain so much.
Most of all, think about character as that is always going to be enjoyable, rich & useful.
Scheduling: use a diary. EM uses paper, but obviously there are electronic solutions too. Schedule in all the stuff you have to do so you can free yourself up for writing.
(I use Google calendar + WorkFlowy for everything, but I probably need to schedule more granularly.)
Leave the house. Abandon your family for an hour or two! Or trade time with your partner: they take the kids so you can write; then you take the kids so they can do something.
Or go on writing retreats (which can be done on the cheap—splitting the costs; asking to use someone’s place, etc). Just make sure to go with people who are as keen to work (& not socialise) as you.
Engage in short assignments rather than book-length projects. Short stories. Novellas. etc. Things that are more manageable for your stage of life that will help you in the long-term (e.g. for competitions; submit to publishers, etc.)
Collaborate on projects with others. Writing half a book is easier than writing a whole book!
Of course, that also means having clear discussions about how the collaboration would work & financial split if it gets published etc.
Say “No”. You can’t do everything. You don’t need to do everything. Prioritise your writing. Give yourself time to do it & to breathe. You do not need to always be available, & if you aren’t, it just makes you someone who uses their time judiciously.
Don’t exhaust yourself. It’s fine to give yourself a break sometimes. Writing is important, but not as important as your physical & mental health & your close relationships. Fallow time can also be helpful & inspirational.
Maybe you’re not blocked, you’re just tired.
(Yes, I probably am. I asked Ellie about how to replenish your energy when your busy life sucks so much out of you, & she said the only way to do that is rest.)
Materials: whatever you like to use (notebooks, devices, etc.), make sure you always have them on hand & ready so you can use them.
(Ellie will sometimes write on index cards while walking. I find that interesting!)
Life is messy & you can write in the mess if you need to. Some people prefer it & are able to tune out the activity around them. Writing doesn’t always have to be time spent alone.
Also, not all housework is necessary, so don’t worry so much about that.
Sometimes it’s worth paying for things that will actually help you to spend more writing—eg a cleaner to do the housework; apps to block out social media; noise-cancelling headphones; decent internet; scheduling apps; supermarket home delivery. Use them!
Ellie finished by saying you really do deserve time to write & make your story happen. Good luck!