One of the biggest myths around writing is that in order to do it we must have great swathes of uninterrupted time. The myth that we must have "time" - more time - in order to create is a myth that keeps us from using the time we do have. If we are forever yearning for "more," we are forever discounting what is offered. The Right to Write, Julia Cameron
Like most wanna-be writers, I have this lovely fantasy about the "perfect writing life." I'd be living in a waterfront home with a writing room open to the sun and sound of the sea. I'd have long uninterrupted days to drink coffee, read, walk the sandy beach, and ponder whatever work was in progress. I'd dress all in cool, neutral colors, my clothing loose fitting and airy, yet elegant. (Think Diane Keaton's character in the movie Something's Gotta Give.)
Of course, my life is nothing like that, and I suspect yours isn't either. Truthfully, that kind of lifestyle probably isn't as conducive to writing as one might think. As humans, we need the pressure placed on us by the outside world to provide the stimulation which fuels our creative thoughts.
Writing, like anything worth doing, requires time, a commodity which seems in shorter and shorter supply in modern life. With a little discipline and determination, you can steal time to write no matter how busy your schedule. If you're like me, you spend 10 or 15 minutes every morning checking in with your "social network" - reading Facebook and Twitter updates, checking e-mail, glancing at the headlines. The first step in finding daily writing time is to set your computer home page to a blank Word document. Better yet, don't even turn the computer on - pick up a spiral notebook and write in long hand for 15 minutes instead.
Part of finding daily writing time is changing your perception about what "real writing" is. You don't have to write 10 pages of perfect prose every day. You do have to write something every day - a few sentences which build into a few paragraphs, which over time might become an article, a personal essay, a short story, a novel.
Think about your daily schedule ~ where can you steal some writing time for yourself?