Life of A Writer

Right now I'm debating with myself about planning a little time off from my hectic writing schedule. Mind you, I just finished the last task on my aforementioned writing schedule, so I haven't had any sleep yet. Nevertheless, what good would it do to cuddle up next to hubby on this cold winter night and try to sleep? Honestly, none whatsoever, because I would just gaze at the ceiling as I try to decide if it would be a good idea to clear my hectic schedule so I can complete and launch a couple personal projects that I have planned for this new year. Oh yes, did I forget to mention that one of those personal projects was among my writing goals for 2008 that I never got around to working on. Okay, I confess, I believe I wrote a few pages of the fiction story I was working on for that project, but it ended up on the back burner with everything else due to time constraints.

Anyway, I'd love to finish and launch the project I started last year, and then I'd like to finish up my plans for the new blog that I promised myself I'd launch this year. However, in order to do all of this, I've determined that I'm going to need to devote all of my time to these projects. Moreover, if I decide to clear my writing schedule, I need to decide how much time I need for both projects.

Okay, I've decided that I will take some time off from my hectic writing schedule, but how much time will I need. I figure I can complete and launch both projects in a month's time, but I wonder if that will be too long to put everything else aside. Maybe I should go with two weeks instead, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure if that would give me enough time to complete the projects. One month or two weeks? I guess I'll ponder that question a while longer and let you know my decision when I figure it out.

In case you're wondering -- especially if you're one of my clients and reading this right now -- I will NOT, I repeat, will NOT leave my clients unsatisfied and risk my entire writing career for these personal projects. Once I decide how long I'll need to tackle the projects, I'll write all the content for my clients in advance. As for my blogs, I'll write that content in advance as well, and then I'll schedule it for advance publication. Since I do have one client whom I write a recap for, my schedule won't be totally clear. The two television shows I write the recaps on airs a day apart, so I'll watch those shows and write the recaps for the client. Once I've submitted the recaps, I'll return to the personal projects. That shouldn't be so bad, should it?

Have you ever had a personal project or two that was long overdue, but you couldn't seem to complete them because of a hectic writing schedule? If so, how did you solve the dilemma?

Posted by Misti Sandefur, Christian author/freelance writer at 6:04 AM