August is Awesome Because of Cristina dos Santos

Today's awesome guest is one I've actually had the pleasure of meeting in person.  She and I attended Orson Scott Card's writing workshop a couple months back.  While I attended the first two days, Uncle Orson chose her to be among the select few to attend the following four-day workshop. (Yes, a congrats to Cristina is in order for that!)

Cristina's family is blessed to have a wife and mother awesome enough to prioritize her life.  Yes, we love writing and most of us have big dreams and ambitions, but those who are wise prioritize.

Please welcome the awesome Cristina dos Santos!

 

Carving Out Writing Time

by Cristina dos Santos

Two years ago when I decided that I was going to be serious about my writing, I never imagined how difficult it'd be to actually find the time to write. I thought that with being a stay at home mom--between naptime and late night hours and plenty of random quiet minutes throughout the day--I'd be a writing machine.

But somehow, with all that "free time"(ha!) I was still struggling to get enough words down to move my story along--managing only about a couple hundred words a day. And then, there there were days when I couldn't get any words down, because you know, life happens, and two little people can keep you super busy. And apparently, I'm a super slow writer though I blame that on my inner editor.

Cristina's Inner Editor

At one point, I started to feel discouraged. On the days I wasn't getting any writing done, I was feeling like maybe I wasn't cut out for this; and on the days when I was getting it done, I was feeling guilty because it was at the cost of time with my children. And as serious as I am about my writing, I don't want to ever look back at my life and feel like I missed out on time with my babies (they are only this little for such a short amount of time, you know?)

But I wasn't going to give up either. So I tried all kinds of schedules and in the process I learned a whole lot about myself as a writer: I learned that I can't write in short spurts because my brain needs time to ease into the zone. I'm useless late in the day and at night. I need sleep or I can't function. I'm never ever going to write a book in two weeks ;) Writing first thing in the morning gets my brain in the zone--and this has changed everything for me.

When I start my days with writing, I'm able to write more (I'm averaging between 1000 and 1500 a day, huge improvement) and the actual writing is better because my brain is rested. I now get up at 5 am, before my family, so that I have uninterrupted writing time. I find that if my brain goes into that place as soon as it wakes up, it stays there all day. So even though I have to stop after an hour or two to tend to the rest of my life, I can ease right into it throughout the day.

Who doesn't love sleep?

It also means that I need to get to bed at a reasonable time, so my brain is rested and alert in the morning. Sleep is so important for our general health. You can't write books if you're sick, right? And, I need days off or I burn out. So I write for 4-5 days straight, and then take a day off and sleep in.

And, besides getting those words on paper at a pace that feels good and keeps me excited about my story, I'm not shushing my kids, telling them to go find something to do, or that I'll play with them later because I'm busy. And that is worth getting up every day before the sun and the birds!

I'd love to hear from all of you. How do you find the time to write?

About Cristina dos Santos:

Cristina dos Santos is awesome!

Cristina dos Santos, when not being a wife or mother, is writing YA fantasy/paranormal stories and reading as many books as she can get her hands on. And that's about all she does with her time and is not complaining. Not one bit.

Visit her Once Upon a Time blog.