Tuesday Tips: Time

This is a very important topic. It is all about the Time you spend writing.

Managing my time is more important because I have a full time job and a killer commute.

Here is how we will look at time:

• Schedule your time.
• Protect your time.
• Use your time for writing.
• Make the time a habit.

Schedule your time.

First and foremost you have to schedule the time daily. I blog in the morning before work every day, with coffee. I write fiction right after work. I get home about 4pm and get in about two hours.

Every day.

For me, so far, this has resulted in about two novels a year plus various short stories.

Protect your time. 

Create an environment that has no distractions. No TV is the biggest thing for me. I just cancelled my land line phone service. I don't answer my phone during writing hours. I tell people to not bother calling me between 4-6pm. No email. No Facebook.

Use your time for writing.

This sounds obvious but when I realized that with a quiet time to myself I found myself doing things that were not writing. I would be web surfing, cleaning my office, or even napping or eating. Now I try to just write.

Make the time a habit. 

If you want to really be serious about it, writing cannot be optional. Do not wait for the Muse. It has to be like a job. You show up and write something. If you do this, inspiration finds you.

--Time is the fire in which we burn...