New Fiction Author? Ten Minutes A Day Is All You Need

Do you wish you could be a fiction author? One of my coaching students, Mia, wanted to write fiction, but she recently went back to work full-time.

“I wish I could write a novel,” she said, “but I don’t have time. There’s work, and my freelancing side hustle. My son’s only a toddler.”

Your life will change, BUT…

I know it’s challenging to find time to write when you have young children. I struggled and wrote novels while my sons were small.

But consider this. Although your life will change as the years pass, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever proclaim proudly that you finally have “time to write.”

“I’ll have time to write when my kids are in school,” an aspiring writer says.

Sadly, “when my kids are in school” becomes “when they go to college…”

After the kids have left home to start their own families, the writer still isn’t writing. “I’ll have much more time when I retire,” he says.

When he retires, he moves house, takes vacations, and deals with family illnesses… An entire life slips by.

Fact: if you want to write, the only time you have is NOW. Take time today.

Luckily, writing fiction needn’t take much time. You can do a lot in ten minutes.

Write fiction in ten minutes a day

Start by scheduling your ten minutes; take your schedule seriously. When it’s time to write, sit at your computer.

Let your creative self lead during those ten minutes. Ask yourself whether you want to write today? If the answer’s Yes, start writing.

If the answer’s No, read, or muse about fiction. Ignore any pressure to produce words. Simply be guided by your creative self, and follow your inspirations.

When your ten minutes are up, go about your day.

Resist any inclination to force your creative self to produce.

Just sit.

Sooner or later, you’ll start writing. Your creative self won’t be able to resist. Then, your ten minutes will magically expand. This won’t happen immediately, but it will happen, over time.

If you’re used to writing nonfiction, it can be very hard to allow your creative self free rein. It feels as if you’re goofing off. You’re not. Your creative self has a million stories to share with you—and you’ll share them with readers.

Relax, let go, and “goof off” (daydream). Sooner or later, you’ll write. Your deep inspirations will be better than any forced stories you piece together with your logical left brain.

Feel the emotion: entertain yourself; entertain readers

Fiction is all about feelings. It’s entertainment. When your readers feel, they’ll forgive you anything. This is why you allow your creative self to lead. You don’t have a choice.

So schedule your ten minutes a day.

You’ll become a fiction author.

Signs along the way that your process is active:

• You’ll remember your dreams. Write them down, or not. They’re a sign you’ve kickstarted your imagination;
• You’ll get ideas for stories and characters. Write these down, but don’t feel as if you must use them. When you receive a true inspiration, you won’t be able to avoid using it;
• (Sooner or later) you’ll produce words during your ten minutes;
• You’ll scrounge up more minutes to write; and finally…
• You’ll publish your fiction.

Yes, you can build a career as a novelist or other fiction author. Find ten minutes TODAY and start.

Most importantly of all: have fun with this.

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