It's A Writer's Life

Hey, all you writers out there.

How is your WIP (Work in Progress) coming along?

What have you juggled today to carve out your favorite time of the day?

Time for your writing.

It's Friday, the end of the week, and if you're like me you might be having a sigh of relief that the weekend is just round the corner. Two days of not doing your day job. I know it gives you the steady paycheck, but does it give you the same satisfaction that writing does?

How much of your day do you think about your writing? Does it take over your life, or can you switch it off while working your day job?

I can't just switch off my creative brain. It's staying on no matter what I do or where I go. The people I meet and the situations I find myself in, all make an imprint on me. I multitask, but it's in my creative world that the true me comes alive with possibilities.

I think I'm addicted to the creative buzz, like an alcoholic is to the drink. When I'm writing, I can't stop, and I wish I could do it full-time.

Imagine that? Writing full time, like every single day. It's the dream for so many of us.

Life still needs to unfold.

Being a serious writer in 2026 is not easy because your work becomes a mosaic of paid and unpaid work and it's often not enough to sustain a living wage.

One writing gig pays, another doesn't pan out. You rely on your day job to pay the bills, but it's your writing that keeps you whole.

If you're anything like me and consider yourself a serious writer, you have life stacked against you because for most writers, we don't earn enough to keep us in food and rent / house payments every month.

Writers are often juggling a day job at the same time as creating your craft around it whether it's fiction or non-fiction. We carve out the time to write because we love it, not to make life more difficult.

Many people ask me, how do you have the time to teach, look after your family, and then author novels and articles?

I'm sure if you're a writer, you've been asked the same question.

My answer is simply because it's what I choose to do. My day job is great, and I enjoy working with students, but I love to author novels and mental health articles too. My writing helps people who are struggling and I make a difference.

That's my passion for writing.

Having a writing routine can help.

What do you spend most of your time on right now?

Are you juggling your day job with the kids like so many parents who are also writers?

Do you have a friend's circle of other moms who can help you with the school run or drive your kids to sports practice, games, and clubs? If you reach out, there is help.

A support network is a great way to save you some time to use for writing.

The kids are on summer vacation in a few days. What happens then? Maybe your kids are already on their summer vacation?

How has your routine changed now that the kids are off school?

Life gets busy, right? The kids need entertainment and activities. It's a full time job right there. 

Is there something you can do to make things a little more organized so that you have more time for writing?

I keep a schedule on our fridge for my family. It's become the backbone of how we navigate through the month, and we all edit it as we go along.

Having a schedule helps everyone to know what's happening and at what time. Yes, it's messy but it's organized chaos, and it works for us. Best of all, my kids love decorating it with little doodle drawings and taking ownership of it.

A schedule means that my kids know that I need my writing time when they are busy with their activities. My kids always come first, but it's important to me that they know that writing for me is like baseball for them.

A writer's Life is never done.

Do you have a creative voice that keeps niggling at you until you write your ideas down?

My creative voice keeps on yelling louder and louder, until I write my ideas on a crumbled receipt, or a sticky note in class. I usually wear a pen on my clothes. Most teachers do the same where I work, and it's a good idea for any writer.

I'm working on the end of my seventh book called Restoring Hope. I have questions in my head about the climax and ending. I care about what my readers think when they read my books and articles.

My writing process is such that I cannot simply put it away, and I keep thinking about how to portray scenes or my characters for the best reader experience. Drafts create more drafts and I give sections of narrative to those who can bear with me and give their opinion. 

Do you have people who can read your work and give their opinion before you publish?

It's a good idea to have another set of eyes on your writing (or more) because you get too close to it and miss tiny errors.

If I'm not thinking about my current manuscript, I'm considering my mental health articles that I write across several platforms online. I write for those who are affected by trauma and abuse because I have lived experience of how to heal from it. My writing can help those who suffer from triggers.

Yes, I think about my writing all the time because that's my writer's life.

How about you?

My name is Lizzy. I'm a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

If you like reading my posts, then please follow me.

For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

Support your fellow writer:

https://ko-fi.com/elizabe69245484

What Kind of Writer Are You?

https://medium.com/restless-quills/what-kind-of-writer-are-you-194075bd06f7

Reading to Become a Better Writer

https://medium.com/restless-quills/reading-to-become-a-better-writer-90cbd4f5ed39

The 1% Ripple Effect

https://medium.com/illumination/the-1-ripple-effect-53de586655f6

Mental Health Matters

https://medium.com/illumination/mental-health-matters-0d145057cf5d

What Do You Overcome Every Day?

https://medium.com/illumination/what-do-you-overcome-every-day-25fd8f06d362

What is Your Inspiration?

https://medium.com/activated-thinker/what-is-your-inspiration-14bb2fdc57db

How Do You Manage Your Stress Levels?

https://medium.com/activated-thinker/how-do-you-manage-your-stress-477b7a66153d