Set aside a small amount of time to write at least four days a week and stick to your schedule. Set reasonable goals for yourself. If you work full time and have three children, finding ten minutes four days a week to write should fill you with pride. Understand that you WILL make progress even if you write only a few paragraphs every day. Those paragraphs will add up. And trust me, it’s much better to get three paragraphs done every day then to write one page a month and sit around wishing you were writing the other 29 or thirty days.
Work on at least two projects at once, even if one is only a string of poems about your goldfish. If you only write one thing at a time and then you get writer’s block or you hate your story or you have a bad day, then you sit there and curse the only work you have to show for yourself. If you have at two pieces going at once, one is likely to make you smile at least a little.
Take vacations from your writing. Please do not write 24/7. You will burn out. Imagine if you worked in a bagel-making factory 24/7, it would be against labor laws. So take breaks at night, give yourself the weekend off, and have fun when you go out to eat. Believe me, rested writers create better work over the long haul.
Go to writing conferences, readings, and other professional development activities. Besides making friends and contacts with your local and national writing compatriots, you will hear valuable advice, see that other people that have similar hopes and problems, and you may find someone who has a perfect writing opportunity just tailored for you.
Set up reasonable goals for yourself and then heap on the rewards. Athletes don’t wake up one morning and run a marathon. I have a friend who trained for a year to complete her marathon. The same can be done with writing. You could start with finishing a five-page story. You could decide to write six poems in a month. It doesn’t matter what the goal is, as long as you remember to start off small and build on your successes. Also remember, with each goal you complete, give yourself an appropriate award. Rewards can include whatever will be special for you: dinner at a fancy restaurant, taking a Saturday to sleep in, or simply looking in the mirror and giving yourself a huge, self-satisfied smile.
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