In order to improve a skill, one needs to make an investment of time. A good writer doesn’t just happen. You must dedicate a certain amount of time to develop your storytelling skills because even if you write non-fiction, you are still trying to deliver a message. But with such busy lives, how do you find the time? If you are really serious about writing, you will have to make the time.

When I first began to write seriously, I was homeschooling three of my four children. Besides teaching them for several hours a day, I still had to feed them breakfast, lunch and dinner (with all their preparations and clean up), plus do all the household chores. My husband needed attention, too, when he got home from work, so I didn’t have a whole lot of spare time.

Yet it was during that period that I was very productive. I wrote newsletter articles, inspirational pieces, and short stories. I wrote late at night or when the kids were playing in the yard. I sometimes would awaken early in the morning with an idea and jot it down on a pad of paper to develop later on.

It was easier to write during the summer when we had no school, but often I was watching my friend’s three kids during the day as well. I had more time to write, but I also had an increased noise level with seven kids running around. Eventually I learned to tune out the unnecessary sounds so I could keep my train of thought while I wrote.

Making the time to write was a necessity and a joy. I knew I needed to put my stories down on paper, and it was exciting to do so. Instead of looking at my schedule with a sigh, I tried to look at it with optimism and creativity in order to fit in those moments to write.

It is not impossible to find time to write. Be creative. Be diligent. Use every spare minute possible. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish when you make those minutes count.

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