10 Ways to Fit in Writing

10 Ways to Fit in Writing -- When You Have a Day Job
by Christine Clemetson

What do you do when you want to write full-time, but you have a day job that takes you to work forty plus hours a week? And you have a family, a house, and all the responsibilities in between. Phew! Right?

It takes perseverance to keep writing and submitting when time is limited. Here are ten quick ideas to get your words in:

1. Use the Notes app on your phone to jot down character traits during the day.
2. Write a story idea over morning coffee.
3. Use a voice recorder app to get ideas down during a morning run or walking the dog.
4. Listen to writing podcasts on your work commute to learn craft and stir up creative juices.
5. Solve plot problems while waiting in line at the store, gas station, etc.
6. At lunch time, bring a notebook or laptop to a bench outside or a local park.
7. Think up scene ideas during the afternoon break.
8. While dinner is in the oven, create a character’s goal/motivation/conflict.
9. Write in the car while your kids are at soccer practice.
10. Use the weekends or your days off  to transcribe all those notes into your manuscript.

One more … Thinking about your characters or plot is writing!

BONUS STEP: When you’re busy at work and tired, and can’t imagine writing when you get home, visualize your love for writing. Imagine your published book in your hands. Feel it with your fingers clutching the pages. Close your eyes and smell the paper. Put a stickie note up on your bathroom mirror with your favorite motivational quote!   Use those images to keep your dream right in front of you. You got this!


About the author...
Christine Clemetson was born to write stories. She can’t even remember a time when she wasn’t listening to the whispers of characters telling her their stories. She just had to put them down on paper, otherwise, how would we find out how they lived –or how they died for that matter?

Besides Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew was Christine's ultimate hero growing up in the small beach town of Point Pleasant, NJ. When Nancy, Bess, and George got together for the latest adventure, she stayed with them until it was solved—even if it took the whole morning on my beach towel.

Soon Christine realized her own stories couldn’t wait any longer. Through reading and writing, she found her niche writing scary stories–the ones that send you under the covers! If you’re a reader, writer, or love everything in between, please join Christine for some fun topics. And most of all, get inspired!

Connect with Christine here:

Email: cdclemetson@aol.com

Blog ~ Twitter: @cdclemetson ~ Facebook

Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime

Center Lane by Christine Clemetson

A Short Story - A Snapshot of Life

What I like about short stories is they’re short, of course, and you have a nice, tidy story wrapped up in less than an hour. Most short stories take about a half hour to read, some more, some less. What it boils down to is a snapshot of someone’s life. The timeline of the story is typically short, as well. Sometimes, the action takes place in a few minutes. Other times, a few days go by. It teaches us, as writers, to think about time, and how it adds intensity to the story.

I might be thinking that way because my story, One More Minute, is in the Tick Tock: A Stitch in Time Anthology. Time was a necessary element in our stories. Still, as I think about the next contest theme, and prompt, my mind goes to the timeline. The story I want to tell will probably take place in less than week, maybe even a weekend.

Do you think about time when you write? A writing instructor talked to us about how important time is in a story. How do you feel when a character is constantly checking her watch? Do you feel tension when the character in your story is late for an appointment? What if someone is rushing into something, a building, a relationship, a decision?

perfect setting for a murder??

I dropped my rusty, old minivan off at a junkyard. My friend was on her way to pick me up, but I got delayed in the “office” (i.e. an RV parked at the entrance of the junkyard) and couldn’t go out to meet her. She started to worry about me, so she called my cellphone. I heard it ringing but couldn’t pick up because I was talking to the owner about the van and getting signatures on the title. It was past the time I said I’d be done. She called again. I quickly picked up and said, “I’m in the office,” and hung up.

When I finally came out of the RV/office, she had her hand on the phone ready to call 9-1-1. She said, “I didn’t know where you were.” I said, “I was in the office.”

“That wasn’t helpful,” she said. “The office could have been anywhere. I looked out over that field of old cars and thought, there’s a lot of evidence out there for murders.”

Now, that’s a great set-up for a mystery. A fictional one. I’m happy to say that I came out alive. We had a good laugh about it on our way to the gym, and I kept thinking:
Timing is everything in a story.

Mary Aalgaard

Mary Aalgaard writes theater reviews and supports the arts through her blog Play off the Page. She teaches youth theater workshops in the Brainerd Lakes area of Minnesota, writes articles for regional magazines, and works with both seniors and youth in multi-generational programs to enhance quality of life and build community.

Mary is also a freelance writer and blogger. Her words stretch across the globe through her blogs and articles. Her writing extends to plays as she works with both children and adults to create original dramas. She gives private piano, and writing lessons, and theatre workshops for kids at Central Lakes College.

Blog ~ Twitter: @MaryAalgaard ~ Facebook

Instagram ~ Website

Go. Create. Inspire!