Wednesday, December 3, 2014

IWSG Post – Fear of Lack of Time

This will be the last IWSG (Insecure Writers Support Group) post for 2014. Next year will bring an entire new set of anxieties, worries, fears and doubts. IWSG has become my favourite place to air my writerly concerns. Here I can freely talk about my doubts, fears, worries and insecurities without being judged or laughed at. Because I know that many of you all must be battling the same fears.

IWSG started by Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh (the author of the Amazon Bestsellers: CassaStar, CassaStorm and CassaFire) posts on the first Wednesday of every month. IWSG is an online group of writers where we all share our doubts, fears and insecurities as well as support and encourage each other. The IWSG website is a wonderful resource for writers.

This month my fear is lack of time. I read somewhere that a writer gets the maximum amount of time to write their first book, after that there are sundry things occupying a writer’s life space: book tours, book signing events, author interactive sessions etc.

I worry that I am not getting enough time to devote to my next book. If I am not going on school visits organized by my publisher (Scholastic), then I am attending a writing related event or managing the million and one things a published author does, or catering to my family duties, or managing my online presence, completing the book reviews for the paper. The little time I can steal from life I devote to writing.

Day by day my writing time is becoming less and less. I feel I may not do justice to my next set of books. I hope this is just a passing phase and I get more time to write in future.

Does anyone else feels like this? How do you handle the lack of time to write?

P.S. IWSG has brought out a book The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond. The book is available free for everyone. Check the IWSG website for details on where to download it.



17 comments:

  1. Well, perhaps the new year will have more time to devote to the first love - writing. You are entitled to a marketing break too :)

    Have a good weekend Rachna, and may I add, congrats on all your successes in 2014 :)

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  2. The fact that you are teaching, writing , promoting books and doing so much more, it does not look like you have a dearth of time, but on the contrary are an efficent time manager, Rachna:)

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  3. For me, reading takes up a lot of time. Now, I have started listening to eBooks. Hopefully, I'll have more time to write in the future.

    Destination Infinity

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  4. We all struggle with the problem of time, Rachna, hoping that 2015 is a good year for you.

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  5. You're doing the best you can! Maybe try to focus on what - if anything - you can do differently in 2015 and set yourself up for success. Hang in there, and take care of yourself. :)

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  6. life stuff can certainly take a chunk out of writing time. i still haven't figured out how to make it all work.

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  7. I am always plotting and planning in my head even when I'm not writing. I wish I had more time to write, but I have a family and a life etc. I find it helps me write better and faster when I can't write. I'm always thinking, if I can get the laundry done, day job done, groceries done, dinner done, I can be free to write for an hour. That time I do write, my writing becomes amazingly clear and focused. :)

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  8. What Madeline said. It does seem there is less time to write after that first book. But maybe it's just the way we write before and after? Before my first book was published, I could work on it in little batches of time here and there. I could take my time and never had a daily word count or anything. After that, I found the only way I could complete a book was dedicated blocks of time every single day and a concentrated effort. Maybe you'll find a new way to write that works for you.

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  9. It's all about time. Time management. Not enough time. Finding the time. I'm blog hopping while my grand baby is taking his nap. And trying to hit as many blogs as I can before he makes a peep. I can't write when I have him because that takes me into another world. We all find that little piece of time that works best for us. Good Luck.

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  10. Hi, Rachna! Just let things flow for now. I'm sure you'll find more time to write soon.

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  11. Just doing a little bit every day can help. Good luck.

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  12. I agree that just doing a little every day can help. My schedule isn't as busy as yours, so that's easy to say. But with all the free time I have, I don't spend every minute of it writing. In fact, when I have a tighter schedule, sometimes I handle my writing time more efficiently. Good luck on your next set of books, but right now, it sounds like school visits, etc., is rather a nice problem to have. :-)

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  13. I have the same insecurity about lack of time. During this time of the year though, it's normal for me. After the holidays I'm going to do my best to get back to writing. I hope you find the time to write and do everything else you have to do.

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  14. I know exactly what you're talking about! I'm in the busiest part of book promotion and I haven't added one single word to my wip since November 25th. There will never be enough time....

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  15. The last IWSG! I new it; It just didn't register until I read it here. New follower as of today.

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  16. Hi Rachna! Not sure if you remember me, but I've been following your blog for a long time :) I just revamped my own website (link below; would love for you to visit!), so I'm excited to jump back on the blogging train!

    You know, I've heard so many great things about IWSG but I've never signed up to be a part of the actual community. Maybe that should be one of my writing/blogging goals for 2015!

    I totally know what you mean about not having the time to write, especially since I have a full-time job plus other side projects as well! I usually try to reserve my lunch breaks and/or early weekend mornings for journaling and other writing. I hope I can make it a more regular thing in the future.

    I didn't know IWSG came out with a book on publishing! Ahhhh. Off to download - now!

    ~Wendy Lu

    Wendy Lu Writes

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