By Wendy Scheuring, The Author’s Writer

Of all the authors and potential authors I have met and have had the opportunity to chat with throughout the years, they have all expressed similar roadblocks to their writing. The number one roadblock is that they don’t always have the time or the motivation to write when they do have time. They are juggling work and family responsibilities. They are raising kids. They are taking care of their parents. In other words, life happens! When they do carve out some time to write, they feel unmotivated. They may face a blank screen or blank page and not know what to write because their minds are somewhere else.

I know this to be true because I have also been there.

I am the mother of three boys. The gap between the oldest and youngest is eight years. Needless to say, my parenting run lasted a long time and I was constantly busy performing that same juggling act. During the day, I did not have a lot of free time on my hands. During those years, I was 100% devoted to my family. Once I tucked the three kids into bed, the first thing I would do was unwind for a little bit and then, when I was in a calm state of mind, I would write late into the night.

Now, I would also write during the daytime, too. While they were playing their soccer matches. While I was standing in the grocery line if an idea suddenly came to me. While I was sitting in the driveway as they were playing outdoors.

When all three left the nest, I figured I could write during the daytime like a normal person (😊) and for longer periods of time, but what I learned was that I am most productive when I write in short little spurts, just like I did when the kids were growing up.

Now, how does that make sense? Don’t we need “time” to make writing happen?

Writing is what I do for a living. So I speak from experience. I have been writing for years. I am a ghostwriter, a novelist, an editor, a journalist, and a teacher of writing. That’s a lot of writing to juggle but I must confess that I juggle it in those short spurts of time. Granted, I love when I am in the zone and have plenty of hours to write, which is great when it does happen. But I still experience focus during those short writing spurts too.

The belief that we need “time” in order to write is created by us: I need time. I don’t have time. So, I just won’t write. This belief sets up a roadblock to success as a writer.

It is a myth that you need a lot of time to write. You do not need time. You need discipline to create a writing habit.

Then you will write without even thinking about it.

Let me illustrate this concept.

What happens if you put one dollar into a jar every day? After one month, you will have about $30 depending upon how long the month is. After one year, you should have about $365 dollars if you did not take any of the money out. How did that happen? You stuck to the plan and continued to put that dollar into the jar. You did not think about it. You did not make up an excuse. You simply put that dollar into the jar, forgot about it, and eventually it added up.

You can do the same thing with losing weight, becoming more fit, etc. Anything that you want to accomplish is done in micro-steps which will eventually lead to an exponential curve. That’s mathematics and it has everything to do with writing.

Now, what if you wrote every day for 15 minutes per day without thinking about it? You would not have to like what you wrote. You would just need to write. Writing like that is just like putting that $1 into the jar.

After a while, you will start to see results. That may come after 3 days, 7 days, or even 15 days. But after 21 days, something magical happens. You will have created a writing habit. In a short amount of time, you will see your word count increase. You will see more pages of writing stack up.

The discipline required to write each and every day for 15 minutes per day (for 21 consecutive days) is the underlying foundation of a writing program I have devised called “write a book in 21 days: by discovering the story within.”

Writing is my passion and I want to help others fulfill their dreams of writing a book. Teaching is my calling. That’s why I created this program.

All you need to participate is 15 minutes each day, a pen and a paper or notebook, and the book and accompanying workbook ($22 for both books). For those who want extra guidance, I also offer an apprenticeship, or mentoring, in 30-day increments. If you have a question about that, please email me at authorswriter@yahoo.com

I truly believe that everyone has a story within themselves. That story may not be a personal story, or it may be. It may be a story of belief, or of creating awareness, or of addressing a problem. No matter what your story is about, it will not be written until you actually start writing.

So, do you have a story within you?

For more information on this unique writing program, please go to http://authorswriter.com and click on the “write a book in 21 days” tab at the top.

Please feel free to email The Author’s Writer at authorswriter@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

All the best in writing from Wendy, The Author’s Writer.

For more articles on local businesses please subscribe below. You can also explore more Brevard County Business’s here.