I've been writing for a long time now and I've written a lot of crap and snuck in a few good pieces when I wasn't paying attention. With my new adventure of releasing gaming products has placed me in a new situation. One I am still trying to establish.
I try to write a minimum of one hour a night (this does not include time spent on the blog). Because of the job I have, that most of us have I'm sure, is when I get home I am mentally drained. But I get cranky if I don't write. Ask Whisk. I am trying to set up a regiment to be more faithful to my writing time. This includes dedicate time blocks set aside for writing. I am not discipline enough to do it any other way.
When I get home I want to eat and turn on the xbox and start mowing down the masses in Black Ops. Which is okay, but when I get my report back at the end of the month and see how many hours I spent mowing down the masses I feel guilty as hell. Look at all the time I could have been writing. Even if I only took half that time to write I would be working on my 5th project instead of my 2nd.
Anyway, I've gotten back into my writing groove again. The main obstacle I've been trying to over come is the closing of my bookstore. I wrote a ton there. Plus, it got me away from all my distractions. I still have yet to find a replacement.
I try to get a half hour or so before work. Then an hour after.
Depends on how fried I am. I will do edits and layout after work, but
even that is pushing it sometimes. Then I make time for Rob with his various productions or any of my friends that may need help with their stuff. And in return they do the same for me. So I am hoping to get the final additions finished for Starter Adventures within two weeks. Send those to the art man, draw up some crude mock ups of maps so Rob can do his map magic and then start editing my slop before I give it Whisk whose editing pen is always sharp and reveals all my bad habits.
PDF
I struggle with this as well. Turning 40, I realize that writing is something that I'd really like to do. I have few grand dreams of writing success, but the experience of writing in and of itself is desirable to me.
ReplyDeleteBut I have young kids, a wife in grad school, and a longish commute to a real job. And serious dedication to maintaining my workout regimen. And gaming with other people is higher on my priority list when it can happen.
Doesn't leave me much time or energy to write.
The blog helps...or helped. I find that all my writing time goes towards that. That's all well and good when I'm actually composing posts that feel like writing. But gaming war stories, GM tips, tools, and such (while very satisfying if they help other people) don't scratch that itch, you know?
So I keep noodling with my schedule and stealing a little too much time at my regular job. I'm hoping this gets a little easier as the kids get older. And the wife graduates from grad school in less than a month, which makes me very happy.
Yeah, finding time to write regularly can be very difficult, and I can relate. In my work I have the whole "publish or perish" thing going on, and the "perish" bit of that does provide some impetus to write regularly, but even so, it's difficult to do it every day. And I find it getting worse as I get older.
ReplyDeleteNot with writing but with painting it's the same, didn't paint last night due to other reasons and it made me slightly angry so I do my best to stick to a routine of at least an hour a day, Black Ops on the XBOX.......come over to the dark side of Black Ops on the PS3 so we can own you.
ReplyDeleteStart a private (closed) blog on WordPress and simply continue to "do the blog thing" and split the time between the two. On some days you may find you spend more time writing on Gothridge Manor, and other days more on your private blog. And some days it might be copying and pasting from the other to other.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have found over the years that amazes me. After time passes I cannot tell the difference between what I wrote when I felt inspired and when I was forcing myself to write. In fact, some of my best writing has come when I forced myself to write.
Keep the faith, man, keep the faith and keep blogging!!!
I don't even want to get into this conversation because I will just repeat all the same stuff everyone else is lamenting! I have given up writing fiction in favor of getting my creative outlet from planning for/running table-top games. It's definitely less of a commitment than writing fiction, of course, since you don't have to write that much or spend too much time prepping. But I get that sense of fulfillment when I do it that I used to get out of writing short stories, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy current problem however comes with frustration when I cannot properly execute my plans, i.e. when busy lives cause me and/or players to not have time to actually game. So all my planning can sometimes languish during long gaps between game sessions. I'm currently seeking a way to rectify this particular situation...
Add me to the mob of moaning teeth gnashers...
I had to ban myself from computer games. I was such a Counterstrike junkie. Sooooo many lost hours!
ReplyDelete