No Schedule-No Problem - Authorship, Publishing, Books and More

Mageela Troche is back guest blogging today and sharing tips for writing while dealing with chronic illness…

I have a confession to make. I do not have a writing schedule. If you have ever picked up a writing craft book, one piece of advice each one shares is to construct a writing schedule. I’ve tried to follow that advice and am struggling to do so again. I have fibromyalgia. It’s a chronic illness that never is cured. It affects me in every way—increased pain, fatigue and brain fog. That makes life a hardship and the energy I have must be focused on what I value most in my life.

Knowing this having a writing schedule would be perfect. But this illness makes a schedule almost impossible. Fatigue could hit me then I literally drop to the floor (a couple of emergency room visits because of it and always having to be lifted up and led to bed.) My thinking isn’t always so clear. It’s called brain fog so trying to form a sentence can sometimes be beyond my ability. Sometimes, I barely know what day it is. Just a few months ago, I wrote the year as 1995.

So how do I form a schedule when my life is like this? I’m sure I’m not the only one who faces hardships or calls on our time that may force us to set aside writing. There are kids, work, husbands, aging parents that require our attention, illness and a dozen other such things.

My advice is don’t be so hard on yourself. That forgiveness and understanding for myself does make life easier. So what do I do to make time to write?

I make a list of the activities that I must do along with a timeline with deadlines. I do the most mentally or physical difficult first. These including writing. Along with that I give myself a buffer between the begin date and deadline. This allows me a little break for those days when I can’t write or handle much of my life.

Then I make use of tools. I have apps on my phone to do social media from bed, check emails and other such things. I have a tablet for writing when I can’t sit at my desk. I even use pencil and paper.

The last tool is time. I use those little moments when I’m at the doctor’s or waiting for my prescription to be filled. It may be ten minutes or twenty but I’m doing what I love and what I wish to use my energy for.

One thing I know that when my fibro flare eases, I hope to make a writing schedule. Then I’ll just have to stick to it until life decides otherwise.

Do you have a writing schedule? If not, do you plan to draw one up? What beside writing demands and disturbs your schedule? And lastly, do you have any advice to share?

About Mageela

An Air Force brat, Mageela Troche has lived throughout the world then landed in New York City. She wanted to leave the same day she arrived. Yet, with her stubbornness, Mageela learned to like the place and the libraries were the main reason. Since she was a little girl, Mageela wanted to be an author and an actress, however, once in college, she changed her life plan in the pursuit of money. After all, college loans must be repaid.

With life’s twists and turns, she returned to writing and focused on the romance genre. Mageela Troche’s first break came when she sold a short story to a magazine. She sold two more before the publication of her historical romance novel, The Marriage Alliance. She has gone on to write four more novels and a novella.

Mageela is currently writing in the cramped corner of her Big Apple apartment. She is the proud owner of a Black-masked lovebird named Boobula. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found online at MageelaTroche.com

TheChieftianSecret_fullres