Guest Post by Time Magazine Featured Author Saralynn Hoyt
A writer friend, Laird Sapir, asked for people willing to host an author featured in Time Magazine for a blog tour. I, of course, jumped at the chance as did several others.
That lead me to meeting Sheryl Hoyt who writes as Saralynn Hoyt – a very nice and lovely young woman.
Sheryl offered up different topics and I asked for this one on finding time to write. I know many writers who have full time jobs, children, and other obligations and finding that elusive time to sit at the keyboard is sometimes tough to do.
Sheryl has some great tips and has used them herself to write.
Take it away, Sheryl!
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A Writers Life: When you already have a full time job and a life.
by Sheryl Hoyt, writing as Saralynn Hoyt
My name is Sheryl Hoyt and I was recently featured in the December 10th issue of Time Magazine in the article “The 99¢ Best Seller” by Andrew Rice. In the article Andrew writes,
Over the years she [Sheryl] had completed five romance manuscripts, written on the bus to her full-time job in Seattle, over lunch breaks and on her couch after dinner.
This lends to the question, when do you find time to write? How do you fit writing into an already jam packed life? Here are some ideas and tips and tricks on keeping the muse flowing and stealing time to write.
Many years ago I did in fact lug my brick like laptop onto the bus every day with me and for 20-30 minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon on the way home, I pounded out a few pages as the bus bounced me from the eastside to downtown Seattle and back. Between powering up and shutting down, there wasn’t a lot of time to reflect. Lunch was a little more relaxed, but it was always a challenge to find a quiet spot to eat and type where I wouldn’t be interrupted. And although this worked for me 15 plus years ago and was how The Scoundrel and the Saint got written, it is not an option for me today.
But there are ways to get the job done in between all the other obligations in our lives. Here are a few ideas:
Carry a note book with you everywhere. That way if something pops into your head, you can take a few moments to jot down some notes so you can trigger the idea again later when you are in front of the computer.
A voice recorder for the car. I have a long commute to work, 45 or more minutes each way driving (the bus isn’t convenient any longer). Most days I’m listening to educational or inspiring audios, but some days, the ideas are flowing. I like to use a recorder and capture any dialogue or scenes that hit me. I just discovered Dragon software and invested in the program that converts from the voice recorder to text. I’m still learning how to use it, but the technology is out there.
If the muse hits, the kids, the husband, the cats and the housecleaning can all wait!!!! Even sleep can be postponed. It’s not the end of the world if you have a sink full of dirty dishes or need extra coffee in the morning.
Even if you don’t have time during the week to write, you can lock down a few hours on the weekend. Nowadays I tend to do most of my writing on the weekends. I’ll spend anywhere from six to eight hours both Saturday and Sunday only writing, taking breaks every couple of hours to clean the house, run errands and workout if I’m really feeling good.
Use TV to help you. If I have some show I want to watch, I set a writing goal for myself and once I make it, I can relax and watch the show. I also use TV as background inspiration. For example; when I was rewriting Heaven Made, I had Downton Abbey and The Buccaneers playing all day while I did a marathon rewrite.
Other times of day to write. I know a lot of writers who have children and they find the first few hours in the morning, before the household is awake, works for them. I already get up between 4:30 and 5AM for my day job, so that is not an option for me. But I do try to catch an hour or two after dinner to get some work done before bed.
Using these methods you can easily find 10 hours a week to write and a few hours for other writing activities like research and social media upkeep. For me this equates to about 50 pages a week. In a few weeks you can have a nice novella written, in several months a full length novel.
But what if you’re stuck?
We call it writer’s block, right? I don’t believe in it, as you can always write something. You just have to allow yourself to write some crap in order to get past it. The best way I’ve found to get the ball, or pen rolling, is to first go back and read the last thing you wrote. It will be much easier to move forward if you can pick up on the last momentum you had before you stopped. Sometimes I’ll even just start writing a dialogue that I’m having with myself about it or anything on my mind (work, food, mean people) just to have my fingers typing something, eventually I’ll get back to the story.
But what if you finish writing the book and don’t know what to write next?
This is another reason to have a notebook on you at all times. You’ll find yourself at the mall or in a restaurant observing people and think, I wonder what would happen if…
If you have a place to capture these ideas and thoughts you will be able to go back later and find your next inspiration fairly easily. Or, just try some stream of consciousness writing and see if anything comes of it. There are millions of stories and millions of ways to tell each one. I do suggest sticking to one story at a time. Immersion in your story, characters and setting seems to produce a better book and I can only assume a better read, which is what writers aspire to and readers want.
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If any of you would like to know more about Sheryl, you can connect with her at:
And you can find her romance novel, The Scoundrel and the Saint at:
Thanks for the great post, Sheryl! I’ve used several of these myself. I especially like the just start writing advice. That has always helped me overcome any “block”.
What about you guys? Have you used any of these suggestions before or find a new one? Do you have a tip to share? I love hearing from you, so leave a comment. And as always – thanks for reading!
Great interview on ‘the process’
I don’t believe in writer’s block either. I find threatening the family if they disturb me works – most of the time!
Right, back at it!
Hi CC!
The only thing that really stops me cold is when the cat decides that the laptop looks like a good place to take a nap. If he wasn’t so darn cute, and a cuddle boy, I’d toss his butt to the curb.
Oh my cat gets away with murder too, Sheryl!
Ha! Threats don’t work as well over the phone. It’s the calls that kill me. If I don’t answer though, the family is likely to send the coppers to check me out. Gotta luv ‘em!
Glad you stopped by, CC!
Loved the interview!
Thanks! I really enjoyed working with Rhonda. And she has a great blog!
Thank you so much, Sheryl. I really appreciate the wonderful guest post. You totally rock and I’d love to have you back whenever you’d like.
Thanks for stopping by, Joey!
Exellent interview. I’ve used some of those although I tend to be a night owl so I end up doing most of my writing when my husband is asleep. I try to leave the writing at night in the middle of a sentence that’s sort of exciting. So when I come back and reread the next day I have a clue of where I’m heading. Much writing success to both Rhonda and Sheryl.
Hi Karla! that’s a really good idea. I’m going to try it.
Thank you, Karla! I’m a night owl too. I usually re-read what I wrote the day before or at least the last couple of paragraphs and that gets me started again. I don’t allow but the most basic of editing during the re-read. If more is needed I just put a big note in RED and move on. Otherwise I’ll be stuck in re-write mode rather than write mode. Thanks for stopping by and I wish you tons of success as well!
Great post! Yep, I do the same thing. I find that if I re-read what I wrote the day before it gets my muse back in the groove.
Thanks Karen, I had fun writing it. Keep ‘on writing!
Me too, Karen! Thank you so much for stopping by!
Nice interview, ladies! I also don’t put a lot of stock in writer’s block. You’re right, Sheryl. If you just start plunking down words, even lousy words, the story will start to flow.
Thanks Liv. I think there is a saying about having to dig through a lot of dirt to get to the gold. That’s what it feels like sometimes.
Absolutely, Liv. You have to give yourself permission to write crap but soon the good stuff is flowing. Thanks for your support!
Great advice. I don’t work and live on my own and still seem to be too busy to write. I would add to this Learn to Say No. No one seems to think that you are working when you are writing at home so ask you to do all sorts of things. Will near all your advice in mind
That is so true, Wendy. I learned to start saying “I’m working” instead of “I’m writing” when people ask what I’m doing. It gives them pause for a second, but then they get the point and move on. I don’t get near as many “requests” for favors as I used to or comments like “Well, since you’re not working…” or “…not busy…”
Thank you for stopping by my blog!
Good point Wendy. And its that much more important when there are actual dollars in play!
Writer’s block is a myth but writer procrastination is real…I’ve been diagnosed.
Diana
I think I might be terminal. LOL Excellent point, Diana.
LOL Diana! I’ve come down with that myself a few times. Thanks so much for stopping by.
These are great tips! I’ve always wondered how people with both a job AND a life manage to complete books
Saralynn did an excellent job with the post, didn’t she? Thanks for stopping by, Alina!
Awwww shucks! Thanks Rhonda.
And SaraLynn (Sheryl) has an amazing critique partner who is always asking her, “what are you working on? Did you get pages done?). Oh, that’s ME! Because I work full-time too, I schedule my writing time. If I write something on a calendar, I’m more inclined to do it. I also fool myself by saying, “I’ll only write for 20 minutes.” If you’re like me, once you get started, it’s hard to stop.
Rock star amazing. I forgot to add to the blog: Get a critique partner who never gives up on you! Couldn’t have done it without you Deb!