NANOers and Productive Writing Time

by Rebecca Talley

How many of you participated in NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) or NANO for short? How did it go? Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with your results?

I participated last year and am currently revising that manuscript. I did not participate this year. I admire all of you who can consistently participate in NANO year after year. In fact, I admire all of you who can consistently write a novel, or more, year after year.

I know we should never compare ourselves with others, but, sometimes, it's difficult to not feel frustrated with myself when others who are busier than I am are also more productive. I'm looking forward to learning from the keynote speaker, Kevin Anderson, at the LDStorymaker writing conference in May 2012 because he writes so many books each year. I'm curious to know how he does it. I'm hoping to learn how I can better use my time to be more productive.

I don't have a lot of time to write. Between being a wife, raising my kids (I still have 7 at home), taking care of my home (the endless laundry pile), taking my youngest to speech therapy and homeschooling him, attending to my church calling, seeking to do service, and all the rest that comes from being a wife, mom, and member of the Church, I don't have the kind of time I'd like to have. But, I know lots of people in my same position who are very productive and use snatches of time to produce multiple books. I have so many stories floating around in my head. I need to learn how to better use the little time I have so I can write those stories.

What do you do to make your writing time more productive?