If you want to be a writer, you have to write. Yes, it’s that simple. And that difficult.
Being a good writer takes more than just talent. The only thing talent really gives you is the determination to keep going no matter what. Michael Jordan wasn’t born an amazing basketball player, it was something he worked at. He arrived at practice early and he stayed late. Because he wanted it bad enough to put in the extra work.
I’ve known a lot of people who wanted to be writers. They would talk all about the stories they would tell, what writing means to them, the authors that inspire them, etc. But when I’d ask them when they write or how often they write, I’d often get vague responses or excuses.
These are people who don’t really want to be writers. The thing that separates the people who truly want to be writers from the people who just like to talk about writing is that the former put their butts in the chair and bang away at the keyboard. The latter complain about how little time they have to write.
If you want it bad enough, you will make time.
I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was ten years old. And from the age of ten, I wrote as often as I could, whenever I could. When I was in high school and writing fanfiction, I approached it with a fervent dedication. And I wasn’t a kid with a lot of free time. I took part in numerous extracurricular activities—I was a member of the band, speech team, mock trial team. I auditioned for plays. And I worked part-time after school.
But I still found time to write.
I would sacrifice my lunch breaks and sit in the computer lab, banging away on stories. I had a constant supply of floppy disks that I’d take from computer to computer with all the projects I was working on. And if I didn’t have a computer, I would use a notebook and a pen. I work full-time now at several jobs. One of my jobs involves standing for several hours while waiting. You know what I do during those hours? I write. In a notebook with a pen while standing. Because I want to be a writer.
I remember listening to an episode of Simon Whistler’s Rocking Self Publishing Podcast where he talked to a writer who composed his novel while sitting in the stands at his kids’ sporting events, typing them out with his thumbs on his iPhone.
That’s a guy who made the time to write.
Do you have time to post on Facebook? Do you have time to Tweet? Do you have time to watch TV shows on Netflix? Do you have time to play video games? Do you have time to go to message boards and talk about how you don’t have any time to write?
Then guess what? You also have time to write. You just don’t want it bad enough.
Writing is a skill and like any skill, it has to be developed. If someone told you, “I’m a musician. But I haven’t played anything in six months,” you probably wouldn’t take them seriously. And that’s how I feel when someone tells me they’re a writer who doesn’t have time to write.
You have to work full time? Boo-hoo, so have millions of other writers. Chuck Palahniuk wrote Fight Club during whatever spare moments he could find when he was working as a diesel mechanic. I’ve known parents who will type with one hand while cradling a newborn baby in the other. And you’re telling me you can’t take five minutes on your lunch break to scribble down some words? You’re telling me you can’t wake up fifteen minutes early or go to bed fifteen minutes late to bang out some words on the keyboard? You’re telling me you can’t spend a few minutes away from sharing cat memes and stalking people you went to high school with on social media to knock out a few words? You can’t write in a notebook while taking public transportation or speaking into a voice recorder while driving to work?
Then you don’t want it bad enough.
We’ve all got responsibilities beyond writing. We all have to prioritize things in our life. If you have time to make excuses for why you’re not writing, then you have time to write.
Turn off the TV, hide the video games, disconnect the wifi, and get to work. Stop making excuses.