NaNo Diary Entry: On Time Management

How are you managing your NaNoTRYMo time?
By Cathy Dilts

Chris Barili, trying to balance a full time job with his duties as husband and father, is writing thirty minutes in the morning, and thirty at night. Then he blasts out as many words as he can on the weekends. That is determination!

Others write during the day while the kids are in school. For some, the only time is after work, or in the evening hours.

Which brings up a question: Are you a day person or a night person?

I struggled for six hours Saturday night to squeeze out two thousand words. Even with the gift of an extra hour, thanks to Daylight Saving Time, the writing was grueling. I finally accomplished my word count.

Sunday morning, I woke before the rest of the household. I vowed to myself that I would not log onto the internet until noon. I would resist the urge to start my Thanksgiving house-cleaning. I would do nothing but write.

Two hours later, boom! I had two thousand words. Part of my success was due to avoiding e-mail and Facebook. Another factor was that I am a morning person.

But during the week, I can only write after work. I have to use this time, even though it is not as productive as writing in the morning. Knowing that I might have a hard time getting started, I rough out the next couple scenes before ending each writing session. That way, I’m not facing a blank page when I resume NaNoing.

To succeed at NaNoTRYMo, you have to discover your own coping techniques. Be as creative at carving out time to write as you are dreaming up your story, and you will achieve your goal!