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April 5, 2013

Making The Time



By Mia Fisher


As a writer, I, like many of my colleagues, block moments of time in an already-busy schedule to make sure I get something – anything – written. And like many of my colleagues, I complain about it, but I do it. Why do I make time to write? Because, writing is just as much my job as teaching school, and, if I want to see my book hit the shelf, I need to write something.  Many people want to write but use the excuse “I just don’t have the time”.  It’s a common complaint writers hear from friends and family.  My last book,Blood Roles, was completed during the last two weeks of my late husband’s hospitalization.  I took care of whatever needed to be taken care of during the day, I spent my time at the hospital, took care of my kids (although they’re teenagers and didn’t need much taking care of), and since I couldn’t sleep anyway, at night I wrote and edited.  I didn’t drop the ball just because my world was falling apart.

True, that is an extreme example, but it proves the point: if I can write during such a traumatic time, there’s no reason that somebody can’t turn off their television or skip a sports event or tell their friend to ask somebody else to go shopping with them in order to work on their book.   It’s a harsh reality, but, for many, saying “I just don’t have the time” equals “I’m not willing to make the time” There’s a popular little poster floating around Facebook that says, “If you still have a life you’re not a writer.”  That is so true it’s not even funny.

True writers will write no matter what, no matter where – they will work their writing into any and all schedules in their lives. They’re known to let laundry and dirty dishes sit idle so they can get that last chapter written.  I know authors who TiVo’d the Olympics so they could finish a synopsis and writers who’ve literally taken edits into the delivery room.  They write because they can and because they truly want to. Ultimately, that’s the key, wanting to.

Nora Roberts once said, "A writer never finds the time to write. A writer makes it. If you don’t have the drive, the discipline, and the desire, then you can have all the talent in the world, and you aren’t going to finish a book. All the talent in the world isn’t going to do you any good."  Truer words have never been spoken.

If you truly want to write – WRITE. Don’t let anything get in the way.   Make time to write, even if it’s ten to fifteen minutes in the morning before you leave for work or twenty minutes before bed.  You’ll be amazed how much you can actually write, in a short span of time.  If you don’t have a good support system for your writing, make your own – there are a plethora of writers’ groups online as well as fantastic writer’s groups throughout the country which have local as well as online chapters. They can aid in helping a struggling writer meet his or her goal to finish the book.  A writer is never alone; there’s another writer out there working hard to get his or her piece done.  Writing is a labor of love at the expense of just about everything else, but it’s worth it when you finish the book – you just have to make the time to do so.   
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Mia Fisher is a romance novelist who moved to Florida in June 2012 after twenty years of being landlocked in the Midwest.  Born and raised in New England, she is a graduate of Colorado Technical University with a degree in Human Services and is currently working on her Masters in Social Work while teaching preschool.  She is the 2013 President of Kiss of Death, the mystery-suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America. Her latest book is Illusions,. Her paranormal romance, Ethereal Ecstasy will be out next year with Black Velvet Seductions and the next book in her mystery-suspense series, Bad Medicine is also scheduled to appear in 2013 as well.  Ms. Fisher is a widow with four children; she lives outside of Tampa with her teenage daughter and a cat with evil intentions.  Her website: www.miafisher.net.  For more information regarding RWA or KOD, visit their websites at http://www.rwa.org/ and http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/ . 

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