Daily Archives: January 19, 2009

Writer’s Budget

Monica Stoner Member at Large

No, I don’t have an great ideas for making money as a writer, or for spending what we might make more judiciously. This is about a time budget though the initial idea came from listening to people talk about setting up a money budget.

One of the first ideas put forth is to “pay yourself first.” Put money in a savings account before you pay bills, if only a few dollars, instead of planning to put away what is left at the end of the month. In this same vein, my New Year thought was to stop planning my writing around other activities, thinking I could easily write late at night. Darkness comes and my body points out how important sleep is, and how much we enjoy it.

Write first, before club activities, before recreational baking (yum!), before all but the most necessary of life’s duties. During NaNo I found out I was writing instead of sampling cookie recipes and I actually managed to lose weight, something I never thought could happen when I was parked in front of the computer for so long.

If our writing means as much to us as we think it does, and if our lives are only complete when we struggle with plot and character development, why not schedule fulfillment of our souls and goals before everything else? Okay, we might want to allow for pesky day jobs, and if your life is anything like mine, meals prepared by the husband would consist of canned soup, maybe. Other than that, why not make a commitment to one hour, five pages, whatever the goal, before parties, before club activities. Think of writing as your second job, and give yourself the same respect you give your employer.

Now to follow my own advice. Happy writing.