Dream of Writing

By Lucy Nel

You dream about being a writer, but you’ve got so much going on at the moment that you’re overwhelmed. You’re not sure if it’s even possible to write one chapter, much less an 80k novel when life is so full of demands.

It’s possible. Not necessarily easy, but absolutely possible.

For me, it all comes down to priorities. I had to shift my attention. I had to stop focusing on all the hours I don’t have to write that other writers might enjoy. I had to take what I have and make it work for me.

I work full-time, putting in around nine hours daily. After work I rush to pick up my adorable son. More rushing happens. Preparing and putting a reasonably healthy meal on the table. Spending some quality time with my hubby and toddler. Since becoming a mother, my priorities changed again. Sleep became a savored but interrupted occurrence. By the time my son falls asleep I’m usually wiped out and left with morsels of time and energy. If I go to bed after midnight, I’m unable to be human in the morning without ridiculous amounts of caffeine. Getting up an hour earlier was like milking a rock. Impossible. But, I really wanted to pursue this writing thing, and the characters in my head refused to shut up. I had to come up with a solution. I now arrive at work half an hour earlier, and that’s my writing time. Thirty minutes every morning, Monday to Friday leaves me with over two hours of writing.

I’m not going to lie. Writing takes an incredible amount of discipline. Most writers don’t have an accountability system in place (and even if they do, it’s normally extremely flexible). Usually there’s no one breathing down your neck to finish your first draft. If you don’t protect your writing time, no one else will. If you don’t shift and change your priorities to fit in some writing, no one will be bothered.

I can guarantee you that few things in the world fill you with quite the same satisfaction as when you write those two magical words, “The End”.

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Lucy Nel is a coffee addicted work-in-progress daughter of the Lord Almighty. She's a mommy to a rambunctious toddler and wife to her best friend and real-life hero. Along with three spoiled Pugs, they make their home in Gauteng, the smallest of nine provinces in South Africa. She works as a bookkeeper and uses every available second to create interesting characters in historical settings.She's a member of American Christian Fiction and her dream came true when she recently signed a contract with Pelican Book Group for her Christmas themed novella, The Widow's Captive. Follow me on Twitter, Visit me at Pinterest, Find me on Facebook