There have been endless essays and studies done on writer’s block. It is a common affliction of writers – when creativity slows down almost to a stop. When you sit and stare at the blank page… and nothing comes. When doing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom become more interesting than finishing the next scene.

There are as many reasons for writer’s block as there are writers. For some, it’s not necessarily a lack of creativity, but a lack of time. And that’s what this blog is about. In my case, the ideas are all there… the urge to write is there… but the time? Not so much. Between the day job, the upcoming move (more on that in a later blog), and the time needed to do promos and all the stuff that comes with publication, there just isn’t time. Which frustrates me no end.

I get up early to write – and get my blogs and pages done – but then there are bills to be paid, “things” that have to be taken care of, the gym to go to (that’s a health issue so can’t be skipped), and so on. The next thing I know, it’s 8:30 and time to get to work. I absolutely love my job (I’m an editor), but by the time my day is over (which is often late into the evening), I am brain dead. After spending the day fixing other authors’ issues, I’m too tired to look at my own story. So I vow to start again the next day.

But there are blogs to write and bills to pay and the gym to get to and things to do…

Solution? To make my own writing a priority. Pay the bills during my lunch break. Take care of the “stuff” in the evening when my brain is too tired to create. Carve out time for my writing because it’s important to me.

I’m not saying it will be easy for me. I tend to be a person of routines and this will be a definite challenge. But I need to do this for me.

What about you and your writing? How do you carve out time for your creativity while still maintaining a “normal” life?