Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the cofounder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group and a member of White Roses in Bloom Authors. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative nonfiction, her writing has been tagged as “Inspirational with an Edge!” and reviewed as “Steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” Visit Pamela at http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com, her blog, http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com, or e-mail her at pthib-7 [at]centurytel [dot] net

Like most authors, writing is not my only endeavor in life. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, full-time licensed sales producer in the insurance industry, and writer. Being a writer is one thing, an author another, and a published or multi-published author something else altogether.

It seems the more I learn, the more there is to learn; and the more I write and get published, the more I have to do. Amid edits and revisions, I must blog, network, promote, and somewhere in between all that, write that next article, essay, poem, devotional, and, most important, book!

I’ve written articles on time management—budget your time just like you budget your money—and getting rid of excuses—you can’t find time to write, you have to make time to write.

I’ve tried goals . . . too intimidating. I make to-do lists that never get completed because I scratch off one item and add three more. My claim to fame for being organized is a desk calendar on which I jot down those things I just can’t avoid—things that have to be done.

But the sheer truth of the matter is life has a tendency to get in the way.

So how do I manage to do all the things a wife, mother, grandmother, and full-time, licensed insurance agent does and still write?

In snatches.

Experts say that frequent, ten-minute walks are just as effective for long-term health as two or three longer walks. The same holds true for writing. A good friend said to me one day, “A sentence or paragraph a day is one sentence or paragraph closer

to finishing,” and we’ve all heard that one page a day equals a 365-page novel in a year (330 if you take Sundays off).

What sage advice.

I’ve been amazed at what I can produce in 15- to 30-minute snatches.

You can too. Here’s my formula for squeezing the most out of my tiny slice of time:

#1 Turn OFF all instant messengers, close all computer windows and tabs, shut down e-mail. The only thing you want open is your WIP. Too many times we are less productive because of distractions. Even research can distract, so if you think of something you need to look up, jot it down, but do not go to Google during this window of writing time.

#2 Pray. Close your eyes, empty your mind and self, focus on God, and ask His blessing on your time.

#3 Just write. Turn off the internal editor as much as possible. Often I see the scene in my head but can’t seem to get it onto paper. One trick I’ve learned is to keep my eyes closed and start typing. Anyone who is familiar with the keyboard can do this. You might turn off the spell- and grammar-check feature—nothing is more distracting than those green and red squiggly lines. At this stage all you need to be concerned with is writing that next sentence, paragraph, or page. You can go back and clean up later.

All authors have their tricks of the trade, and they have their own way of squeezing writing into their days. By using this formula, I’ve managed to stay productive and keep my readers happy. Try it when you feel like you just don’t have time.