Howdy, all, and welcome to another edition of Ravenous Wednesday! They've been a bit sporadic the last few months because yours truly (that's me!) has been overwhelmed with work, writing, and promotion for the writing. There are times when adding one more item to my 'to do' list is enough to send me over the edge, which is never a good thing. I tend to scare my cats and my boyfriend when this happens, so I've learned to slow it down a bit.
I first discovered this blog months and months ago when I was originally published in Ravenous' Once Upon a Threesome Anthology. Since then, Dana has asked me to do a blog (I still have th
at email!) and I jumped at the chance and said yes! Of course I'd love to do a blog...
And then time passed.
And then more time passed.
And here it is, November. (Technically, as I type this, it's October 30 so there!)
W
hy did it take me so long to do this? The short answer is time. It is not on my side, no it isn’t, Mick! The longer answer is that I suck at juggling. I have a family and day job, then try to squeeze in writing time between it all. I won't tell you I'm at work typing this.
Using the computer is a huge time-suck. OK, that wasn't a revelation to anyone, I'm sure.
But once I get online, weed through the junk email, the personal email account, the online bills, the online banking, do any writing-related research I need, I don't have time for much else. Facebook? Myspace? I'm not on either. I don't have a Youtube account, a Twitter account, a Yahoo Group, or a newsletter, and I'm not planning on getting any of the afore mentioned. I don't have a website, either, and can't imagine the time it'd take to make one.
I blog. Poorly. My blog is updated MAYBE 4 times a month. Five if I'm feeling particularly guilty about not doing anything with it.
Who has the time? I suppose if there was no family, dog, or job, I could while away my days online, but until I hit the lottery, my books go viral or some rich aunt I've never heard of let alone met dies and leaves everything to me and me alone, in some tax-free offshore haven, time is a limited commodity.
I barely have time to read the news, let alone people's status updates. I can’t keep up on the blogs I do follow, so end up not commenting on anything even if I enjoyed the post.
How do you manage? How does everyone else do it?
Join the conversation and then make sure to visit Kristabel on her blog!
32 comments:
And as befits a good hostess, I am first! So, popping the cork on some lovely bubbly and settling back to wait my guests...
Bubbly? I'll take some! (That probably won't help with the online time thing though, huh?) I'm so glad this goes up on GMT time, I actually get to comment before 8 pm.
So. Time. More accurately, time management. Any suggestions? I have to say, the whole concept of doing more than this is daunting.
I'll grab a little single malt, as I still have some writing to do ;-)
I was really pleased to read an interview with Italo Calvino where he talked about all the things that got in the way of writing, then "Eventually I get down to writing and then the real problems begin."
I do have a MySpace page (god knows why anymore), two Facebook accounts (and a fan page), two Twitter accounts, three web sites (or rather four if you count my academic one), a weekly column, four blogs, a full time teaching load (most of the time, this semester is an exception), a full time academic publishing schedule, as well as writing fiction under my three names.
For me time management rests on two things: deadlines and discarding. Everything needs a deadline or it doesn't get done. Everything that's non-essential gets discarded. I don't really watch television (the world's biggest time suck), I don't do much in the way of cleaning until the kitty tumbleweeds get too big. I seldom cook and if I do, I make something that will last a few days or freeze to save time.
And I still waste too much time goofing around online, hanging with my friends, going to movies, drinking at the pub and whatnot. For me it all comes down to priorities: life is short. What matters most? A lot of people enjoy writing, but it's never going to be their first priority. For me it is.
Bubbly and single malt, ladies! :-)
For me time management is all about carving out two hours week nights and five-six hours on the weekends, sometimes more... but I don't have kids. I do work full time... and the house needs maintenance, as does the cats, and a social life is nice. But when the deadline is an issue, I just have to sit down and put in the time, and other things have to wait.
I was really struck by one of the themes in Alan Bennett's play, The Habit of Art, which really brought out the importance of routine as a way to generate work. Building that habit of persistence is so important. I'm someone who really rebels against routine, but I find that if my routine remains loose enough that I don't feel straight-jacketed, I do stick to it.
One of the things I do in my "writing when you have a full time job" class is have the participants inventory their day and see literally where there time goes. It seems to help to focus attention on that aspect.
Kate, that's a great idea, inventorying one's time. Kind of like tracking one's actual food/calorie intake for a few days to see the reality versus the perception. I also agree that not feeling totally trapped by routine is vital to stick with a routine. It helps for me when I'm enthused about a project - then it's more of a play time than more work.
Mine's a ginger beer please hun, need a clear head tonight.
Welcome Kristabel, lovely to have you here on Un:Bound. Ignore the cult like chanting and the restraining orders for stalking, we are really very lovely. ;p
I didn't get any restraining orders... Hmmm... guess I cuoldn't hear them knock over all the chanting!
*grin* s'ok Dana they've all got my name on. ;p
Excellent!
Wow, it is slow everywhere today... I think a lot of people are traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday...
My answer for more time? Cutting sleep. Not the best choice, I know. But when I gotta do some stuff and wanna do other stuff, I'm motivated to make it work. No husband or kids, so I've got more hours than some. But I manage to fill them all.
cutting sleep is the one thing I just can't do. If I am sleep deprived (and the older I get with shifting hormones and what not, the more trouble I"ve had with insomnia), the less functional (and pleasant to be around) I become... I have friends who seem to thrive on it, though. Or at least not go homicidal...
Thanksgiving weekend has a great deal to do with the slowness of responses today. (We're off to visit my sister and her family tomorrow. As Susan's holiday begins today, we celebrated a bit last night and so I'm very late getting on line today. But I'm here at last.)
Time screws us all Kristabel. It races by when we are just ready to begin marching. So we all have to manage what we do with the time we have. I'd say that all you need is to do what you can in the time you have. Then don't worry about it. As long as what you turn out is the best you can produce then tou're all right. (And yes I do know this is easier advice to give than to follow, we being who and what we are.)But I reaslly do believe this. And you're striving to be better than you all reflects in your work. You have a lot of readers who anxiously await your next book or story. Now THAT'S success.
I'd like something warm as it's closer to freezing here. So please Dana say there's some Irish coffee on hand. And you will here from your publisher. I guarantee it (unless they've taken complete leave of there senses).
Hope the responses get better today. :-)
When I was working full-time, the only way I could accomplish my writing goals was by setting a schedule and establishing a routine. My writing time was, more or less, from 10 PM till midnight, almost every night (I made the occasional social exception). I think K.A. is absolutely right -- having a routine increases your productivity beyond the hours you've actually scheduled. It trains your creative brain to realize that, okay, this is when we sit down and do the work.
I highly recommend setting a writing schedule if you are pressed for time. It really does work.
Jack, of COURSE there's Irish Coffee! A nice hot cup with plenty of whiskey...
"It races by when we are just ready to begin marching."
Possibly my favorite quote of the year. So damn true...
O.Lisa, the schedule is the only thing that finally worked for me, after years of fighting it 'cause it cramped my creativity... ahem..
ah well, no thanksgiving here. but hugs for all of you.
You mean England didn't adapt our national holiday out of gratitude for getting rid of all those pesky Protestants? Dang!
Other Lisa, you are so right about sticking to schedule. Discipline is perhaps the one way to deal with time.
Adele, We thank you anyway for opening this site to us and our talented authors (among which I include Dana of course).
Dana, just keep rocking on. LOL. :-)
I'll keep on sipping my bubbly! Heh.
Wonderful quote, indeed, Jack. You are such a treasure.
Jack is a national treasure!
Thanks Margery. And thank you Dana for the complement. It really seems that we are given the orders:
One step forward, three steps bacward. March!
I hate it too. But I'm resigned to it by now. We just have to keep slogging until we get where we want to be. The thing to remember is, we WILL get there.
Dana, you and Margery and Adele are the real treasures.
It helps to be able to read really really fast, which I'm fortunate enough to be able to do. I do science fiction so I use science/technology aggregation sites like TheDailyRotation.com a lot. Online still sucks down too much time though.
It does but it also allows us to keep in touch with you. (And, yes, I do know that at some time all your attention will have to focus on your writing.)
I also know that we, your friends, will always be there for you and will always pull for you.
Clear sailing ahead.
Schedules, yes. I finally figured that out. Unfortunately, it's usually very early in the morning and I'm not what one might call a morning person. Early afternoon is good, but work seems to interfere.
I guess the best thing to do is adapt, eh? You all seemed to so I know it's doable. :)
On other good news, I got my contract for my first full-length from Ravenous! Historical menage for any who might be interested. Quite the beautiful (and racy!) cover, too.
Hi all!
I couldn't imagine life without my online interactions, networking or otherwise, but one thing I just can't bring myself to do is join Twitter....
Kristabel, what do you for promotions besides update your blog? Do you have any tips for those who may have hit their limit with social networking?
Kristabel, where's the cover?!!! I wanna see!! And congrats congrats congrats!!!
Hi, Lisa and Dale!!
Lisa, I have a Twitter account, but maybe use it... once a week? It drives me crazy.
I'm headed out of here to shop for the dish we have to bring to our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow... but will be back online in a couple of hours!
Jack, man the bar!!!
Good luck shopping. Second rounds coming up on request.
Back, but it looks like the party is over for the night... I am gonna relax with some red wine and my ALphasmart to take notes for the novella that has to be done by Dec. !st!
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