JUST NEED ANOTHER HOUR IN THE DAY

I don't know about all of you,

but I'm loving learning about balance.

Everyone has been so incredible

to offer their words of wisdom

and here is another amazing woman author,

 Kathryn J. Bain

I never realized how busy I was until someone pointed it out to me. I’m a part-time paralegal for an elder law attorney. I am the Membership Director and Public Relations Director for Ancient City Romance Authors. I blog, I network, on and on it goes. Put on top of that I have two novels and a novella coming out this year. When do I sleep?

Everyone’s busy these days, and as a writer it does seem hard to find the time to write. The most important thing to do is make time. You can’t get published if you don’t write.

I get up at 5:00 in the morning and start my day. I leave for work at 7:30 so after exercising, showering, and breakfast, that gives me over an hour to write. Being a fast typist helps. I can type more than seventy words per minute depending on my focus and if I’m in the “zone”.

If you set a goal of five hundred words a day, that’s fifteen thousand a month. Within five to six months you have a completed draft. Make it one thousand per day, and that’s twice as fast. At fifty words a minute, that’s between twenty to forty minutes a day.

My goal is to do at least one chapter a day when I start something new. If I stay focused, I can have it done in less than an hour. I also spend my evenings marketing, blogging, networking, and catching up on e-mails. Writing is my main objective in the morning.

Setting goals and turning the television off is one of the ways I reach my target. I can honestly tell you I don’t know who won American Idol last year, and I have no idea who got voted off the island. Those things aren’t important to me. Getting published is, so I stay focused.

I may only have a dog to worry about, but my best time for work is still early in the day. While I get up at five, I’m usually in bed by nine at night. It doesn’t leave much time for a social life, but alas an artist must suffer for their work.

Getting up early is how I get my writing in. Some people are night people and write better in the evening. Basically, when would you have the least annoyance from your family?

Then stop making excuses, and just write.

____________ 

I was born in Spokane, Washington, then immediately shipped to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where I lived until the ripe age of 19 when I graduated from North Idaho Jr. College. I then packed my bags and moved to Boise where I lived for two years until I could no longer tolerate the winter weather.

Once my toes hit the sand in Florida, there was no turning back. I have lived in Jacksonville for over 26 years where I am a Florida Certified Registered Paralegal. I have worked in the legal field for over twenty years specializing in guardianship, probate and estate planning. I am also the mother of two grown daughters.

My first book Breathless was released January 13, 2012. My second, a humorous novella titled Game of Hearts will be released in March 2012.
Some of my groups and leadership roles include:
President of Florida Sisters in Crime for 2010-2011.
The Public Relations Director for Ancient City Romance Authors, 2010-current.
Membership Director for Ancient City Romance Authors, 2012-current
Co-author of the First Coast Romance Writer quarterly newsletter.
Other membership groups: American Christian Fiction Writers, Florida Writers Association, Southeast Writers Association, Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of American.