Time Out

I thought being retired would leave me all the time in the world for writing. Or at least the four days a week that I’d been working previously.

But that’s not what has happened. For one thing, the business of writing and then PUBLISHING means so much of my time has been spent sourcing and implementing the necessary tools (and there are many of them!), then maintaining those tools technically.

There’s also social media. Between my writing, my personal life, and my church, I now oversee two websites, two Instagram channels, four Facebook pages, a Youtube channel, a blog, and a minimal presence on other social media tools to point people to the ones I actually use.

Let’s not forget the learning and the networking. My writing group twice a month, online classes about tools and techniques, seminars on everything from self-publishing to serial killers (usually in London in my case), Facebook and professional groups that I join to get my name out there and learn from my peers. All a necessary part of keeping up to date in my field and publicizing my endeavors.

And when I gave up my job I also gave up my housecleaning service. So add housework to that list, as well as helping my husband support an elderly parent (mum-in-law is currently 101 years young!).

Between all this, I have plenty of excuses I can use for why I’m not writing. Heck, some of them even have to do with the business of writing! And it’s not worth writing until inspiration strikes anyway, right?

Wrong. The basic truth is that this career change was all about writing and getting my writing out there so others could enjoy it. And if I’m not writing, none of the rest of that can happen. Plus, writing is the part I really enjoy, something I tend to forget if I don’t do it for a while.

That means on those four days a week that I used to work (at least), I sit down for a number of hours and I write. I have my starting ritual now (a cup of hot chai latte, feed the cats, fill my water bottle–I hear some folks light a candle or change their clothes) and then it’s writing all the way. On blog days, though, I include this as writing. 🙂

The corporate world works because people are paid to show up for a certain number of hours and devote themselves to their jobs. If I’m going to be a successful writer, I can give nothing less.