Aug 18, 2011

Writing Time

The real life Fossil aka my zombie dog.

This year I made time for my writing. It wasn't easy. Like a lot of other writers who also work and parent, I tried to write in my 'spare' time. Pfft! There's no such thing as spare time. So this year I started making 'writing' time. Spare time is for tidying the house, or watching a flick. This has paid off, I'm getting a lot more accomplished.

I've also been attending a lot more writing workshops and seminars. Last week I was at a science talk for writers and this weekend I'm off to the pretty coastal town of Merrimbula to attend another workshop:

I started out my Uni years studying psychology, so I'm really looking forward to this topic. Of course I will let you all know how it goes.

This week I also finished my last lot of edits for MY ZOMBIE DOG. Yay! The book is now completely in present tense and I'm really happy with how it flows. My beta readers (all kids between 10 and 13) are all very positive about the story, and ask for more stories like this one. My main character is Zane, and he has his hands full with this crazy zombie plague, but everyone loves his loser mate Kev' the most. I'm now ready to start querying MY ZOMBIE DOG. I already have a pitch session lined up for a conference in a few weeks (shaking a little).

The best part of finishing a project is getting to work on a new one. I'm excited to get back into Warracknabeal Kids and finish off the first draft of this outback murder mystery.

Are you using your writing time, or still trying to find 'spare' time?

11 comments:

  1. Why I use my writing time writing of course! But not always what matters. Helping my 5 yo with her writing seems to be cutting into a lot of 'spare' time at present. Congrats on wrapping up ZD. How gratified you must feel. :-)

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  2. Wow, you got that book done super speedy. Do you have a set schedule? Certain amount of time a day? I'm really struggling to get words down at the moment.

    mood

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  3. Hi Moody, my schedule changes, I sometimes have set times of the day and find I write best in the morning BEFORE checking emails and blogs, but usually I work mon-fri teaching, so I set myself a weekly goal, e.g. 1 chapter written per week or 5 chapters edited per week. This way I try to do a bit each day, but if I let myself down my punishment is that I have to sit up late and finish that chapter in one sitting.
    And many times my family feed themselves.

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  4. Dimity, I also get asked to edit a lot my girls' stories and check their blogposts etc :)

    Not long until the CYA Conference!

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  5. No, I'm like you, I have time set away for writing and then I use my 'spare' time for other things.

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  6. The only time I get is very very late at night. at times I find myself nodding off at the computer...not too productive when my forhead slams the key board! I have to think of a better way....because I am getting nowhere.
    Blessings, Joanne

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  7. Charmaine, this is wonderful. First off that you made writing a priority and gave it equal billing with other things of importance as opposed to lumping it in with the 'spares.'

    Second, congratulations on your final edits and, even more so, with all the kids resonating with your work. It's interesting to me how often a 'sidekick' of sorts will leap off the page even more for readers and wonder why that is. I imagine, in any event, that it's a good thing.

    Hats off to you for parenting, working another job and writing. That's three full-time careers, love. Feel good about what you've done.

    -Suze

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  8. Awwww...what a cute dog!

    I am impressed with your accomplishments! Congrats on knocking down so many milestones.

    Me? I'm in the middle of a transfer, so have been using that as my "latest" excuse. I need to seriously put it back in gear once moved.

    Hey, have you seen the "Ultimate Dog Tease" yet? Google it if you haven't. My son showed it to me, and I laugh-cried for several minutes. :)

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  9. Good luck with Zombie Dog, it sounds like big fun. I teach, and I agree, sometimes, it's really fun to just be the student for a change. Those courses sound interesting.

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  10. I've also been trying to fit writing into my 'spare' time and of course, getting no writing accomplished. I'm attempting to move writing up my priority list so that I can get more done, but it's not easy.

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