A Week in the Life of a (Part-Time) Writer

Hey everyone! If you’re a return reader, welcome back; if you’re here for the first time, then just plain welcome and thanks for reading. This month’s blog post was inspired by the multitude of “day-in-the-life” author posts I see flying around social media. Mine may not be nearly as impressive and action-packed as some of the ones I’ve seen, but if I may venture to say so, I think it might be a little more in touch with what you as a fellow part-time writer are probably going through.

But first, an update from the Debut Author Diaries (TM)! Work on my upcoming novel “Knight School” is still progressing…slowly and painfully, but progressing. I recently had a bunch of new time open up in my schedule due to leaving my karate studio of 20 years (for more, see my social post), and one of the things I had resolved to do was to use that time to write more. More on how that’s going in a bit. But it’s allowed me among other things to set aside more purposeful and intentional time each week to dive into my story, which is still being in large part rewritten and restructured from the ground up. The broad strokes of story remain the same, but many of the character interactions are being sped up and streamlined into a much tighter version of the story.

As of this writing, “Knight School” is under 80,000 words, which is a tremendous achievement for me! Of course, a third of the story still likely has to be written (and another third edited copiously), but if I can make the final draft 140,000 words or less, I’m going to call it a serious win. It’s difficult cutting some of the things I have, but I know it’s for the best and will make the story tighter and easier to follow. I’ve been having conversations with many writer friends who have given me additional inspiration on how to alter the plot to suit my new goals, and I’m very pleased with how it’s all coming together. When it will fully do that, I can’t say — but I can say that I probably will not be making my (admittedly ambitious) first goal of querying this spring. I do hope I’ll be ready by the fall, however!

Okay; now back to why you originally came to read this. Like I mentioned above, I’ve been working to set aside more time to write these days, but even with more availability in my schedule, it’s still not always easy. As someone who works full-time and indulges in their creative writing on the side, it’s often very tough for me to want to write more after doing it all day in my marketing job. While I am never going to give up on my writing, I came to the conclusion long ago that it was probably always going to be a side gig for me and not a way I really made a serious living…never say never I suppose, but I believe in being realistic. Plus, as I’m sure you do, I have other hobbies: writing is just one of my many interests that take up time in my weekly schedule.

If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ve also seen a million posts from other writers on social media about whatever their “productivity regimen” may be: how many days a week they dedicate to writing, how much progress they make toward their goals, etc. I’m here to tell you I’ve tried it all: daily word count goals, weekly time allotments, self-imposed deadlines, everything. But if I’ve learned one thing about myself, it’s that I can’t force creativity that feels good; if I’m just not feeling it, I know I’m just going to waste my time with crappy writing that upsets me more. That said, I also am someone who enjoys having a schedule that I can stick to and try to make consistent progress with. So at this point, here’s what a typical week in my writer’s life looks like:

Tuesday/Wednesday: Due to my day job schedule, the only time I’ve really found works for me to write is in the evenings, and each week I have alternating hobbies I like to pursue: Tuesday night board games at my favorite local game store, and Wednesday night trivia with some friends. I don’t want to do both every single week, so on alternating days I’ll return to the game store (which has a small cafe area open in the evenings!) once a week to have a beverage treat and dedicate a few hours to writing time. I’ve found that if I can get out of the house I can sometimes be more productive than when I stay at home, where there are a million distractions I can find for myself if I don’t want to focus on my writing. The game shop my be an untraditional setting, but it’s what works for me right now.

Thursday: Thursday evenings are the one solid time I set aside every week without fail to write, as I’ve been part of an online writing sprint group for close to ten years now. I’ve gotten to be great friends with many of the members of this group, and even though some weeks are quieter than others it’s great to know I have a place I can go to get instant feedback on my current work. The chats happen via Discord and usually last for around three or so hours. It’s definitely a little on the late side for me to want to be productive, but I go where the people are and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Saturday/Sunday: The weekend is much more of a question mark than actual writing time, but it can happen. I’ll say that I always aspire to do some writing work on the weekend (I’m counting this blog post as that, for example!) My Sundays are usually mostly spoken for with family time, but I can sometimes sneak in a little work in the morning or later at night. Saturdays are much more available, as it’s a day I try to reserve solely for me and things I want to do; but with the summer season coming up and me wanting to get outside more, plus using the day for seeing friends or doing other fun things, it’s a toss-up whether or not I get much writing done.

Like I’ve said before, I think the most important lesson to be taken from this is that you need to find a schedule that works for you. I’ve tried ideas like setting a time or even word count goal for every day, or even select days during the week, but inevitably when I failed to meet those goals because of completely understandable schedule changes or just off days, I would beat myself up about it. I truly believe the most important skill a writer can have is perseverance (something I learned from my karate days): being willing to stick with your story no matter how long it takes or how hard it gets. Even if you have to walk away from it for a while, the writing will still be there when you get back.

Contrary to what some people might say, you are NOT a fake or failed writer if you don’t write every day or make every goal you set for yourself. As long as you don’t give up and keep going, you’ll get to where you want to go.

What’s your weekly writing schedule look like? I’d love to know! Hit me up on social media or send me a message here.