Finding time to write can be hard. Life is busy. So what do you do when those two worlds intersect? You find a way to write through the busy seasons. In today’s post, Janilise Lloyd, an author and a mom of two, shares how she discovered the key to writing during those times when life was anything but calm. We hope her story and tips encourage your writer heart too!
There are a lot of people in the world with a story in their heart, and as a twenty-six-year-old new mom, I was one of them.
While I’d dabbled in writing before the birth of my first son, it was about a year later that a new story idea gripped me. I found myself mulling it over in the quiet hours after putting my kiddo to bed, but I told myself the timing wasn’t right. Bottom line, I was busy!
My story idea had other plans. It wouldn’t let me go, so when the new year 2022 came in, I set a resolution. I’d write without pressure or expectation. In that season of life, I knew I couldn’t set a daily word count goal or I’d only be disappointed. But I made myself an honest promise. I would write every day (Monday through Friday), even if I only got a few words on the page.
Keeping that promise to myself wasn’t easy. Sometimes I barely managed to eek out fifty words between calls for work and the end of my little guy’s nap. Sometimes I pulled the laptop out at the end of the night when I only wanted to fall into bed. But some days, I found that if I began, I’d hit a rhythm. My characters made surprising choices. The world came alive. Occasionally, it felt a little like magic, and by the end of April 2022, I was shocked to find I’d put together an entire book. I’d managed to capture that story running around in my head, and it became my Christy Award finalist book, The Whisperer’s Wish.
If like me, you find yourself wanting to write but unsure how to fit it into a full schedule, let me offer a few tips.
Tip #1: Start where you are
You will hear a lot of writers say something like, “I write one thousand words every day,” or, “You have to write every day to call yourself a writer.” Don’t let such statements discourage you. Your path is different, and you may not be in a spot where you can be consistent every day. That’s okay. Start wherever you are. Work with commitment to doing your best, and I promise those words will add up.
Tip #2: Set aside perfection
One of my favorite mottos to live by is, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” It turns the old adage on its head in a freeing way. After I had my second baby, I was deep in the early drafting stages of a new book, and I was functioning on very little sleep. I was still trying to write a little most days, but I knew the words weren’t great. The story was choppy. I was jumping around from scene to scene. It was far from perfect as I tried to pull a story together with a brain that felt a lot more like runny egg than a functional human organ. I continued on anyway, and bit by bit, revision after revision, I’d pulled together a new book that landed me my first literary agent.
Tip #3: Ask for help and be your own advocate
Sometimes we have a hard time throwing up the white flag and admitting we can’t do it all. It’s taken time and humility for me to accept that it’s okay to let my husband do the dishes, even if he did the night before and the night before that. It’s okay if I use valuable time to work toward my goals. Tell your support system that writing is important to you. Let them know what you are working toward. Then ask them to help you reach those goals. Stop shying away from writing or downplaying it as “just a hobby.” You don’t have to be earning money to take your writing seriously. The more you treat it as important work, the more the people around you will also.
I hope you finish this blog post feeling assured that you can do this, even when you have a full plate. Becoming a successful writer is much more about persistence than it is anything else. I promise small, daily efforts will add up. Your skills will improve and your confidence too. I believe you can do this.
Go crush those writing goals, one day at a time.
About Janilise Lloyd
Janilise Lloyd is the author of the 2023 Christy Award finalist The Whisperer’s Wish, published by Scrivenings Press. She loves
telling stories that whisk readers away to new worlds filled with adventure and relatable
characters. She lives in Utah with her husband and two kids and loves to spend time outdoors
whenever she has the chance.
Social Media and Website Links:
Website: https://janiliselloyd.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janiliselloyd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janiliselloyd
X: https://twitter.com/JaniliseLloyd
Start reading The Whisperer’s Wish for FREE:
The Whisperer’s Wish – Chapter One
Email:
Address: 15 Lucky Lane
Phone : 501-289-9319
Great advice, Janilise. My children have been long gone from the nest, but mothering young children was a busy season. I enjoyed The Whisperer’s Wish and gifted a copy to one of my granddaughters last Christmas.