Today, I’m honored to welcome author, Marla Martenson, to the blog! This is the first time I’ve had an author guest blog here on Cover to Cover, so I’m super excited! Marla will be talking to us about how to juggle working full-time and writing a novel.
As the author of three books I am often asked, “Marla how do you do it? How do you find the time to write?” I wrote all three of my books while still working full time at a matchmaking company, so my writing time was all over the place. Sometimes I would write a chapter on my lunch hour, sometimes I would write after work, which was difficult because I didn’t get home until 7:30 pm and my energy was drained, so I mostly wrote on the weekends. Some people have the idea that to write a book one has to sit down all day everyday writing for months upon months to finish their masterpiece but actually if you make a habit of writing something everyday, even a couple of pages, a few months later, you’ll have an entire book. That is what I did with my second book, Good Date, Bad Date and it felt almost effortless; there was no pressure or deadlines because I was consistently putting something onto the page.
It all comes down to priorities and goals. If your goal is to become a published author, then go for it. Laser in on that goal and take a step in that direction on a consistent basis. I have a small desk in the corner of our living room where I write. I open the door to the balcony and listen to the birds sing, it’s very inspirational. The times that I do write in the evenings, I like to sit in bed with my laptop; it’s very cozy.
Vladimir Nabokov. The author of such great novels as Lolita, Pale Fire and Ada did his writing standing up, and all on index cards. This allowed him to write scenes non-sequentially, as he could re-arrange the cards as he wished. His novel Ada took up more than 2,000 cards..
Philip Roth. One of the greatest living American writers, paces around as he thinks. He claimed to walk half a mile for every page he writes. He separates his work life from personal life, and doesn’t write where he lives “” he has a studio built away from his house. He works at a lectern that doesn’t face the view of his studio window, to avoid distraction.
Find what works for you, what is comfortable and what inspires and excites you about the process and the routine, and you are sure to be a success!
Here are some things that you can can do to move you closer to your writing goals and inspire you:
Clarify what goal you are moving to…
Writing down your goals is a powerful tool to bring forth and realize your dreams. It is too easy to just let the days and years go by doing things that are not meaningful to you. Take the time to focus and pinpoint a key goal in your life that you want to accomplish and get clear on it so that you can laser in and focus.
Read something every day, even if it’s one page…
Reading enriches our thoughts, widens our vision and enhances our knowledge. The more we read, the better we are able to express ourselves both written and in speech. An avid reader is always filled with ideas and has more confidence than a non-reader.
Try something you have never done before…
Make a list of things that you have never done but would like to try, and then slowly but surely try these things and mark them one by one, off your list. Imagine how interesting your conversation and your writing will be when you recount your recent adventures.
Attend seminars in self- improvement…
Attending seminars is a great way to gather new ideas and information as well as network and meet like- minded people. The tools that you will learn at many seminars are invaluable and highly inspiring.
Thank you so much, Marla, for sharing your insights here on Cover to Cover! Check out my review for Marla’s latest book, Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker here!
So readers, how do you juggle writing and working or going to school full time?
Thanks so much for this Jessica and Marla! I just got done reading this book as well and was very inspired for the exact reason! Showed me that I can multitask, even if writing is all I want to do 🙂