There's No Time!

That's the excuse every single would-be writer employs when asked why they haven't written "the next great American novel." And it's true, life in these modern times demands a huge amount of our time. As a college student, I've experienced the same hopeless feeling. One day, after finishing one enormous pile of homework only to be confronted with another stack, I was curious how much time all of my commitments really took up. Ignoring my giant literature textbook, I grabbed a piece of paper and outlined my daily schedule. It looked something like this:

Class: 4 Hours
Homework: 8 Hours (4 classes x 2 hours per class)
Job as Teacher's Assistant: 2 Hours
Sleep: 7 Hours

Total: 21 Hours

That left me with three hours to eat, shower, have a social life, shop for groceries, and travel to and from campus. With all these demands, when on Earth was I supposed to have time to write? Many other people most likely feel the same way. If I had the absolute solution for scheduling time wisely, I wouldn't be spending my time blogging. I'd be out there making millions of dollars teaching people how to do it. But through trial and error, I have come up with a few guidelines that may be helpfully for the totally-inundated.

• Make a list. I know, it sounds obvious, but sometimes the most obvious things are what people neglect to do. The list will give you something to work with so you know exactly what you have to get done that day and you are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment every time you check something off.
• Prioritize. Again, obvious, but maybe all those innumerable things you have to get done don't need to be done all at once.
• Weed out. If you're truly interested in writing a book, you will have to make some sacrifices. Instead of watching Family Feud or The Price is Right you could dedicate that time to sitting down and pounding out a page or two.
• Write. Even if you didn't have time to add to your novel that day you should take five to ten minutes to sit down and just write. Keep a notebook in an easy-to-access place. Who knows, the random "stuff" you write down today could be food for thought or even a new book in the future.
• Share. Tell you husband, kids, friends, etc. what it is you're trying to do. They will form your support group on days when the creative juices refuse to flow and encourage you when it's been a week and you've barely added another paragraph.
• Be patient. Writing a great book or short story or poem doesn't happen all at once. Realize at the start that your writing is a road trip with lots of blown-out tires, spike strips, and construction detours along the way.

A Visit With Lois Lowry

No one was listening as Mrs. Seamon began introducing Lois Lowry. They'd been distracted by the screen saver flashing across the projector screen. First, a picture of a poofy, pink, flowered bedspread popped up. The girls oo-ed and aw-ed appreciatively. Sliding across that picture next came an angled view of a shiny bathroom with a stone floor and checkered wall paper. The shower curtain was forest green and matched the soap dispenser sitting on the counter beside the sink. Still unnoticed, Mrs. Seamon sat down, allowing Lois Lowry to stand and hurry to the computer sitting beside the pulpit. She gave the mouse a shake and the first slide of the Power Point entitled "A Glance at My Life" reappeared.

"Sorry about that," the seventy-two year-old author apologized. "I just finished remodeling my farmhouse in Maine. I don't think you'll be interested in what my bedroom and bathroom look like." The audience laughed and Mrs. Lowry began her presentation. I laughed along with the rest but couldn't say that I really agreed with her. I thought that brief look into her life was fascinating. It's so easy when you're reading nationally acclaimed novels to think of their authors as these super-celebrities who float from award ceremony to banquet with no personal life of their own. This glimpse into the life of Lois Lowry reminded me that authors are really just normal people--they eat, sleep, and yes, even use the bathroom on occasion, just like the rest of us.

I did pay attention to her presentation and left with a renewed hope for myself and every other person who ever wished to see their writing published. Lowry's life had not begun in any extraordinary way, it had been her love of the written word and a desire to see her writing in print that set her apart from the millions of other closet-writers who spend hours on their stories but never gather the courage to submit their work to a publisher. Lois Lowry didn't publish her first book until she was forty years old, although from an early age she had an interest in writing. She told several anecdotes of her younger years when she attended camps for girls during the summer. She noticed that the camp counselors, who were college girls, treated the girls with college-age brothers better than the others. So when asked whether she had any siblings, she told the counselors about her younger sister and brother . . . and then employed what she termed her "fiction writing skills" and invented an older brother who owned a car (a rare thing for a college student in those days) and who might be coming to visit any weekend. Needless to say, she became the counselor's favorite camper.

At the end of her presentation, Lois allowed some time for a book signing. I approached her with my copy of The Giver, trembling a little with nervousness. I was about to meet a Newberry Award-winning athor face-to-face. In a minute, I was standing before her and extending my book.

"What's your name?" Lois asked politely.

"Katie," was my quiet response.

With a quick hand, Lois scrawled the inscription, "For Katie, From Lois Lowry" on the title page of my book. Gripping the book tightly, I walked away thoughtfully, being impressed again with the realization that she was just another human like any of those pressing forward to meet her in person.