Over the last two weeks the question I have received the most, by far, is:

“When do you find the time to write?”

That’s a great question, and a question that anybody that is serious about writing needs to ask.  But more important than just asking the question, any serious writer needs to find the answer.

It takes time.

It takes patience.

It takes above all else, diligence and commitment.

How bad do you want to have the idea or the story that’s rolling around in your head on paper?  How intense is the feeling inside of you to share part of you with others?  Do you want to really bring your characters, your places, and other worlds to life?

If your desire to see a finished product is not strong enough, you will always be busy.  There will always be something else to do.  The things that you fill your time with will usually be good and worthy and things that need to get done, but it won’t be writing.  A day turns into a week, turns into a month, turns into a decade and the story you have “always wanted to write” is a nice dream that you tucked away.

But if you had set aside, say, 15 minutes a day, a few days a week, to write a hundred, two hundred, or five hundred words…the results are amazing.

The average page of a 6×9 book contains roughly 250 words.  If you are just typing away on your normal Word document without any special formatting the average page will have about 500 words.  That’s a lot of words!   Every book, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, you have ever read has a story with A LOT OF WORDS!

So what is the answer to the question: “When do I find the time to write all those words?”

TODAY!

(and tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after…)

If you wait until tomorrow, then you will wait until next week, and then it will be next year.

Don’t wait.

Writing is methodic.

Writing is practice.

Writing is about being able to forgive yourself and commit to keep moving forward.

Above all else – when you make the time to do it – writing is rewarding.  Not just for you, but for those who want to read what you have to say.  I promise, there are others that want to read what you have to say.  The fact that you are reading this post proves it.

Start writing and keep writing, a little a time.

When are you going to find time to write?

PS – When do I find time to write?  Monday through Friday from 6am-7am and then I can usually fit in a few days from 4pm-5pm, right after work (yes, my REAL job).  This post is exactly 466 words, took thirty minutes to write, and about ten minutes to polish.