Striking a Balance

Without a doubt, I love writing. I lose track of time and am happy to write, edit, rewrite until I am reasonably happy with the result. Someday I hope to have much more time to write, but for now, I have to write in the spaces between making a living. I have set a goal of writing one hour a day or 420 minutes a week, in any increment of time. I put that goal on the fridge where I am bound to see it because the fridge and I are close. We spend a lot of time together. Yesterday morning I wrote three pages in longhand before work and today I typed it in to the story I am writing, plus did some editing. I am constantly trying to find a way to write as well as do everything else I need to do. Last year I spent a lot of time trying to learn about marketing and so far this year, I have spent more time writing and done practically no marketing. I have to be honest and say that my heart is not really in the marketing but I do realise it has to be done. It’s an ongoing juggling act. I have been reading books about creativity and an interesting suggestion that came from two of them was to not ask your writing to earn you a living for quite a while – it’s too much pressure. Fortunately I enjoy the other parts of my work life, as a therapist and pet minder. Reid Tracy, CEO of Hay House, reckons it takes ten years to be an overnight success. Grand so – one down, and only nine more to go! So if you are in the same boat, just hang in there and keep writing for the sake of writing. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.