How I Went From Writing "0" Words in 5 Years to "22,000" Words in Less Than 60 Days
per·se·ver·ance (/ˌpərsəˈvirəns/) – persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
As a writer, you learn that creativity shows up when it wants. Its unpredictability often leaves you frustrated and defeated. Hopeless, you sit in front of a blank screen, eyes fixated on that inconsiderate blinking cursor, daring you to pack it up and quit. But contrary to popular belief, creativity was not the most significant challenge that I faced. My biggest challenge was what I called “Writing with Children.”
Photo by Sandy Millar from Unsplash
Before having children, finding time to write was not complicated; writing happened whenever I wanted. I wrote in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, and even late at night. No matter where I found myself in the house, I just plopped down, turned on a light if I needed it, and started creating worlds and characters. But all of that changed when my wife and I decided that it was time to grow our family. Wifey and I, oblivious to parenting, expected and planned for a bit of change as we prepared for our new arrival. But, we were not ready for the major lifestyle shift that was upon us. Between the dirty diapers, endless crying, and sleepless nights, I can honestly say that writing was the last thing on my mind.
“But all of that changed when my wife and I decided that it was time to grow our family.”
Two years later, we welcomed another bundle of joy into our family. The polar opposite of our first son, he slept during the day and through the night. There were even times when he would put himself to sleep. But having two young kids in the house meant that daddy time came before writing time. Another year went by, and I failed to write any words. If you are keeping track, that is three years, zero words.
Fast forward another year and a half, and our third child was born. I was about to embark on year five of no writing. The guilt and shame weighed on me. And to make matters worse, my friend, creativity, showed up from time to time to kick me while I was down. Parenting and writing became like water and oil; they did not mix.
But when you’re a creator, you always have that itch, and one day, during my five-year word drought, I decided to scratch it. I sat at my computer, destined to pick up where I left off. As soon as my fingers hit the keys, I was interrupted by my oldest son. After stopping to get him situated, I pulled up my chair. I readied my fingers, only to be interrupted by my daughter. These interruptions went on for the next 30 minutes. Furious, I closed my laptop and buried my face in my hands as they bombard me with questions and requests. At that moment, I realized that I needed to do something differently if I was going to start writing again.
“if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
The first thing I did was come up with a plan. Benjamin Franklin once said, “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Writing a novel is a monstrous task; trying to write a novel with three kids felt impossible. Implementing a plan allowed me to see the bigger picture, highlighting the areas of my process that I needed to focus on. Not only did I come up with a plan, I included my spouse. Including my wife in the process helped me maximize my time, increase my efficiency, and achieve my desired result.
The second thing I did, was set a schedule. After implementing the plan, it was evident that I needed to choose a specific time to write. Identifying when my kids were most active, needy, and attention-starved was key to finding an ideal time. After about a week of observation, I found that the best time to write was in the early morning, before the kids woke up, after lunch, while they were napping, or in the evening after putting them to bed. In short: kids sleeping = me writing.
“One thing I understood was that life is not one dimensional, so change is inevitable.”
The last thing I did was more on the mental side. I reminded myself that I had to be flexible with the schedule. One thing I understood was that life is not one-dimensional, so change is inevitable. How we deal with that change defines who we are. For example, during the summer of the Covid Pandemic, my ideal writing time switched to right after lunch. My two youngest would take a nap, and my oldest would have quiet reading time. But once school started, I was no longer able to write in the afternoons. With a quick change to my schedule, I switched back to writing in the evenings.
Implementing these changes made the impossible seem possible. I was finally able to start writing again, and the fruit of my labor was evident. I wrote one short story, two blog posts, and over 22,000 words in less than two months. If you are still keeping track, that is 22,000 more words than what I had written the previous five years combined. I am writing more, and I also write every day now, sometimes twice a day. Don’t get me wrong, writing with children still has its challenges. But armed with a plan, a schedule, and some flexibility, I peek at my little ones while they are sound asleep; I smile and whisper, “Challenge Accepted.”
