It's Time to Write
Some writers advise you to write every day, whether you feel like it or not. The argument for this is twofold. First, like any other artist, you must practice your craft, and, second, making yourself write every day instills the discipline you'll need to finish your projects. Committing to some writing time every day also helps you make writing a priority; this is important for those who dream about writing but never seem to find the time to sit down and do it.
Do you really need to write every single day? It may seem excessive; after all, few other disciplines require you to work seven days a week, 365 days a year. Besides, when it comes to any creative endeavor, the mind and the muse both need time to rest. You won't ruin your writing career if you take an occasional day off, or even an occasional week's vacation. As with most aspects of writing, the time you need to devote to it depends on your lifestyle, your other commitments, and what you want to accomplish.
Just as important as time to write is a place to write. Whether you can convert the spare bedroom into an office or have to block off a corner of the living room with a folding screen, set up a place in your home devoted to writing. Having your own space where you can leave the tools of your trade about without worrying about other people messing around with them will make things a lot easier.
Depending on What You Write
When you're working on fiction, it's a good idea to write every day, or nearly every day. You can lose tone, minor plot points, and the genuine feel for your characters if you wait too long between writing sessions. Most writers who advise you to write every day are thinking in terms of book-length fiction, where these factors are more important and you could more easily lose track of them.
Nonfiction is different, because each chapter is more like a long magazine article — a piece that can stand on its own. (The exceptions to this are biographies, true crime stories, and other works that follow a preset chronology, where continuity in tone, plot, and character development are important.) When it comes to writing nonfiction, you probably won't lose the feel of the whole if you allow several days to elapse between chapters.
A Window of Opportunity
Some people are at their most creative in the early morning. Others can't get going until late at night, when the rest of the world has gone to bed and they are alone and free to imagine whatever they like. Still others can write productively at almost any hour of the day, as long as the inspiration is there.
How you write is as personal as what you write. If you aren't sure when your muse is most active, experiment with writing at different times of the day under different conditions and examine the results. You may find that you do your best work in the hour or two before breakfast, or that you need Bach or the Beatles playing softly in the background to stimulate the flow of ideas and words. Or you may find that you need a couple of hours in the neighborhood diner with a pad of paper, a pen, and a bottomless cup of coffee.
Setting a Schedule
Once you figure out the time and place that's best for you and your writing, work it into your routine. Some writers recommend setting aside the same time every day to be devoted to writing, because this makes writing a regular habit rather than an occasional hobby. This sort of schedule is particularly useful if you have trouble working writing time into your daily life. It also can be useful if you have a family; you can schedule your writing time from 8
Most writers prefer to have blocks of time, rather than a spare few minutes here and there. For most of us, it takes a little while to settle down, organize our ideas, and begin writing. Having an hour (or two or three or four) blocked out will give you more time for this kind of settling in.
Too much time sometimes can be a problem too, because work usually expands to fulfill the time allotted for it. If you find yourself spending a good share of your writing time staring into space or otherwise avoiding the actual writing, try cutting back on your writing hours. If you only have an hour to write, you might find yourself getting down to work sooner than if you give yourself two hours to do it.
Life as a writer is tough, uplifting, hectic, exciting, frustrating, liberating, and disheartening. As often as not, it's all those things at the same time. Many, many would-be writers never get the hang of the ups and downs of the business and give up on their dreams of getting published. The rest of us are convinced that the ultimate reward, seeing one's name on the cover of a book, is just over the horizon, and that's what keeps us going.
