# What is everyone's "real life" like?



## Rufus Beerman (May 11, 2013)

Hi everyone,
I've been lurking for a while. I tried finding a post similar to this, but couldn't. Sorry if it's a repeat.

I see a lot of people on here who post a ton here AND write a ton. How in the world do you have so much time? What do you do for work? Do you have families?

I have 2 young kids, a wife, a house to take care of, and a 50-hour-a-week job, not to mention other hobbies and exercise. I have written 12,000 words in a couple of months.

(I self-published a novel 5-6 years ago but took it off the market because I wrote it in my mid-twenties and hated it years later.)


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

I have a demanding day job (in the insurance industry) and a commute.  So a lot of my time is not free for writing.  I don't have kids, but I do have a fiance who's a full-time student.  He also works 40 hours a week, or close to it, but I'm the primary earner in our partnership (and probably will continue to be, because he's majoring in history!!)  So my job is very important to us, as is my writing, because it makes up a significant portion of our income.  We hope I'll be able to go full-time with it soon, but for now, I keep the very demanding day job and the time-eating commute.

I write and do other things that help promote my writing and my brand (like the column I write for The Seattle Vine) because we do depend on the money from those endeavors -- not so much to pay all our bills at this point, because my day-job paycheck covers that need, but to get us quickly to other goals we have.  We're paying for our wedding entirely with my writing income; we'll both be taking hiatus from whatever jobs we have in two years (hopefully that will be writing ONLY for me) to do a long backpacking trip, and we'll need to save up enough money to see us through before we can do that.

So writing is every bit as much a priority for me as my other responsibilities.  I make time for it because our family, such as it is, depends on my writing for its future security if not its present security.  

When I have a few free days, I like to get out and hike or backpack, and I try to spend as much quality time with my fiance as I can.  With him in school full-time and working 40 hours a week, we don't have a lot of time together.  But we know we will have much more time together if we can achieve the goal of transitioning me into a full-time writer.  I'll probably work more hours than I do at my day job now, but my schedule will be more flexible.  Right now, it is anything BUT flexible.

I also spend an hour a day at the gym, because all this sitting at desks can't be doing good things for my health, and heart disease runs in the family.  Plus I've got that 2600-mile hiking trip to condition for.

Everybody has a busy, demanding life.  If you want to succeed as a writer, you find ways to work writing regularly into your life.  The more you write, the quicker and smarter you become at writing -- so you will find yourself able to write more words and more useful words (i.e., words you're less likely to discard on future edits) with less time.

Writing is a skill you have to train.  It takes discipline and commitment.


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

I'm a free lance writer. I write my fairy stories when I'm not doing technical manuals (right now, on digital forensics). Shifting gears is sometimes... interesting. I have odd dreams in my transition stages.


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## Robert Gregory Browne (Mar 10, 2011)

rufusbeerman said:


> I see a lot of people on here who post a ton here AND write a ton. How in the world do you have so much time? What do you do for work? Do you have families?


I've been doing this full time for a few years now, so time isn't really an issue. Before this, when I had a day job, I simply waited until everyone was in bed and wrote at night. I didn't get much sleep.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

I'm a freelance editor. Popping in here is my reward for editing so many pages. I work pretty much sun-up to sun-down, but I take frequent breaks to pop in here, walk the dog up the mountain nearby, check Facebook, do the dishes, check Goodreads, fold laundry, check email, call my mom... I'm married, but we don't have any kids. I turned 50 this year! 

I write when I feel like it. I enjoy having written more than the actual writing, to paraphrase Dalya Moon. I LOVE marketing and am studying more about it. I've been published 9 months and have sold a total of 282 books. I probably should stop promoting my current books and put that energy into writing more books instead, but I am having so much fun promoting them! It's like a video game that pays (and costs) real money! LOL!


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## Alex Jace (May 6, 2013)

I run a separate business that eats up most of my waking hours, so I try to see my writing time as a way to escape work, rather than another type of work. Mainly what I sacrifice is a social life! And nobody needs that anyway.


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## Rufus Beerman (May 11, 2013)

ElHawk said:


> I have a demanding day job (in the insurance industry) and a commute. So a lot of my time is not free for writing. I don't have kids, but I do have a fiance who's a full-time student. He also works 40 hours a week, or close to it, but I'm the primary earner in our partnership (and probably will continue to be, because he's majoring in history!!) So my job is very important to us, as is my writing, because it makes up a significant portion of our income. We hope I'll be able to go full-time with it soon, but for now, I keep the very demanding day job and the time-eating commute.
> 
> I write and do other things that help promote my writing and my brand (like the column I write for The Seattle Vine) because we do depend on the money from those endeavors -- not so much to pay all our bills at this point, because my day-job paycheck covers that need, but to get us quickly to other goals we have. We're paying for our wedding entirely with my writing income; we'll both be taking hiatus from whatever jobs we have in two years (hopefully that will be writing ONLY for me) to do a long backpacking trip, and we'll need to save up enough money to see us through before we can do that.
> 
> ...


Sounds similar to me. I am a data analyst for a large company, and I am the only one in the company who does what I do. So even when I have a vacation (like this past week), I am still thinking about work and if my stuff is blowing up while I'm out.

I am a runner and I run a lot of races around the Portland, ME area. I typically run at lunch to break up my day and clear my head a bit.


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## Just Browsing (Sep 26, 2012)

My life actually sounds a lot like Cherise's, except I have a kid (off in college). Full-time freelance writer and editor. I work seven days a week, from rising till turning in, but I break my day up as I please. My spouse does the cooking and most of the housework and yardwork, so that helps enormously.

I travel a lot of for work, which is actually my best personal writing time (long plane rides! so productive!). I think the hardest part is scheduling--deadlines come when they come, no matter how hard I try to line everything up sensibly in advance. Just now I've been slammed by second edition requirements from a trad publisher. I mean, this is from contracts I signed in 2008. I had no idea they'd make June 2013 so packed. So I just hope for a free September as a reward, or something.

I've been known to post here while on long conference calls and skypes. Bad girl!


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm a mom, a wife, a volunteer, I rehab wildlife, and have friends and family locally that keep me busy. My 9-year-old is home for the summer, so I have plenty of distraction. A couple of years ago we decided to live our dream life rather than waiting for sometime in the future that may never come. We bought a house (for cash) on the Gulf of Mexico. We swim, snorkle, and boat right off the dock. Yesterday a sea turtle popped up his head twenty feet off our dock. I love our lifestyle.
We have a dog, bunny, and turtle, plus misc. other pets until I find them permanent homes. 
I write an article twice a month (every other Thursday) for _Eye On the Paranormal_, and I guest blog. I just started Indie Author Chat with author Samantha Fury who has been an online friend of mine for four years.
I walk three miles a day with a friend to counteract all the sitting. 
The rest of the time I work on my writing, editing, formatting, getting books up in different formats, and now I'm expanding to different locations for sales.

I did work full time at a dance studio though, around sixty hours a week, when I wrote my first novel. The only free time I had then was between 10pm and 2am.

You have to carve out time to write. Everyone is different. Go with what works for you, and don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Enjoy the journey.  You only get one life; so create your dream instead of waiting for it to happen.


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## AndreSanThomas (Jan 31, 2012)

I have a real job that runs 50 hours in a typical week and has me on call 24/7/365. It is common for me to be on conference calls 5-6 hours a day and deal with several hundred emails. I handle an emergency approximately once a week which often has me on the phone at midnight and on the weekend. I travel for work about once a month.

In addition, I have the world's best husband and two young children (9 and 7).

Here's how my typical writing day goes-

http://sharazade.com/?cat=80


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

My life is a disaster.


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## AgnesWebb (Jan 13, 2013)

I have a full-time day job (45+ hours a week) and part-time acting work (plays, auditions, etc), as well as an active social life and very energetic rescue dog named Maximus. 
Took me about three months to finish my first novel, and looks like my WIP will clock in at around two months. I hope the length of time can decrease with each novel, until I'm like Elle Casey or one of the other superstars!


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

My days are dedicated to the fickle whims of my dog.


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## Nathalie Hamidi (Jul 9, 2011)

My real life is bleh. At least for a few more months.
Then it will be YOUPADAPIDAAAAA!  \o/


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Occasionally, I'm not drinking.

Don't judge me. I live in Mexico, awright?


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## gljones (Nov 6, 2012)

Total chaos as I have 2 young girls and my wife and I both have day jobs.   I can only find time to write when everybody has gone to sleep.  
I don't know what I'd do without my Keurig coffee maker.


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

Im married w 2 kids that we homeschool (cuz the school sucks by us), plus the baby and a crazy dog. I spent today driving back fm a funeral in NY. I edited my book in the front seat. I wish the Roomba would grow arms and cook dinner. In the meantime, we eat a lot of pizza. Life is kinda crazy, but its always been that way so I don't mind so much. Strike that on the Roomba w arms--too freaky.


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## Zelah Meyer (Jun 15, 2011)

I'm a stay-at-home mum.  I have a three year old son who has autism and wakes a lot in the night with nightmares and/or night terrors.  I don't get a lot done at the moment, but I'm hoping to change that.  In the last year I've been concentrating on taking training courses with WMG Publishing (Dean WS) and hope to take more in the autumn.  I figure that, if I'm too tired to write/edit, I can at least learn.


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## 60865 (Jun 11, 2012)

I'm a self employed attorney whose work schedule is like a roller coaster. 
When I get big chunks of time, I write instead of doing the zillion other things I should be doing, like get my very large butt out of my chair and walk.
I've given myself permission to take two month away from my practice this year to see what happens if I try to write more often. 
I've got two kids 26 and 23 who moved out but still financially depend on me.The eldest is almost supporting himself. The youngest is in veterinary school with another 3 or 4 years to go (the extra year is for becoming a specialist). Since there's just the two of us left, the third child of the house my partner has come to understand that he could figure out the way to the grocery store to get food once in a while.
Oh, and I also have an 80 old mother with the attention span of a gold fish. I am keeping in her house for now and every day is a new adventure. I'm thinking about making a book about the surprising things she does ... if I'm going nuts someone should had least get a good laugh out of it.


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

Hugh Howey said:


> My days are dedicated to the fickle whims of my dog.


right there with you, Hugh. Pippin owns me, not the other way around.


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## Leanne King (Oct 2, 2012)

Good grief, reading this thread makes me feel like a right lazy bastard. I spend my days looking after the baby and walking the dog, often at the same time. When the baby decides to sleep every now and then, I get to write. I don't know how people have time for jobs as well as kids, I couldn't do it. I am in awe of you all.


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## Skye Hunter (Apr 30, 2013)

I work a relatively low stress job in the insurance industry.


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## A.A (Mar 30, 2012)

Insane.

I have 4 sons - 2 older and 2 in primary school (grade school?) and am a non-fiction writer of my own web content which is my 'job'.
Last year, I homeschooled my youngest and before that homeschooled my 11 year old for a year, and as a single parent, feel like I'm just catching up on a ton of things. My sanity is catching some fresh air on the beach (which we live next to) or out in the bush (am a bigtime bushwalker/hiker) with my very lovely boyfriend and kids.


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## Laura Lond (Nov 6, 2010)

My real life consists of taking care of my two girls (a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old) and my mom who lives with us and has been hospitalized 5 times during the last year. Things aren't looking good for her; after two failed bypasses, she might have to have her leg amputated. This will be yet another big challenge and big adjustment to make for our family. We'll do what we always do: hold onto each other and pull through it together. 

I manage to do some freelancing to help pay the bills. As many others who have shared before me, I can only write late in the evening and at night, when everybody else is in bed. I'm not as good about it as I should be; sometimes I give in to being tired, tell myself that I can't concentrate, etc. Then I of course regret it, looking back and seeing that I could have written at least a few lines. Oh well. I'm working on it.


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## Gennita Low (Dec 13, 2012)

I'm a self-employed roofer. It's hot out there.

I'm also a self-employed romance writer. It's hot in here .

Time-wise, if you can't find me hanging upside-down from a roof, or chasing my pet pomeranians and one chubby pet squirrel in my backyard, or doing the chachacha with Nathalie Hamidi here, I'm writing or gardening. Or sleeping. I love sleeping.

When do I write: Usually at lunch time in greasy spoons among hot and stinky guys. The hotness factor adds up to the stinky factor and has nothing to do with the hotness in my books.

Time is a problem all writers-with-other-jobs face. We all find time because we love writing and giving life to our stories.

ETA: And oh, I do my own business/partnership taxes for both the roofing and writing companies. Because I'm a glutton for punishment and a control freak.


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## Jana DeLeon (Jan 20, 2011)

I quit my full-time job at the end of last year to write full-time. Until then, I didn't have near the time to devote to it and as such, did not release near the amount of books I will this year. I have no children, except the four-legged kind, so none of that responsibility. My husband and I had a discussion about my writing a couple of years ago and both agreed to put everything we had toward it. So he takes care of food and laundry and we pay people to clean house, do lawns, etc. Anything you can afford to outsource, do it. It will buy you valuable writing time. 

Things have gone so well that my husband changed jobs from a demanding 80+ hour week to a 45-hour week so that he could assist me with websites/admin/marketing/graphics and the five million other things I do that create 14+ hour work days.

I rarely go out with friends or see family because of deadlines. I haven't done hobbies in years, although I usually take a 20-minute nap on my float in the pool every day. I see this as my opportunity to establish myself before I'm lost in a sea of writers. I can visit friends and relax once that's done. For now, workaholic is perfectly fine by me.


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## Joseph Turkot (Nov 9, 2012)

I teach English full-time for ten months of the year. Summer time is my writing heaven. And it starts in 5 days!


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## Vivi_Anna (Feb 12, 2011)

My real life consists of homeschooling my teen daughter. Being a single parent. Chauffering her to and from her plethora of dance classes, competitions and recitals.

And I write full time.  I have over 40 books under my publishing belt, plus 10 scripts and 5 TV pilots.

and I still manage to exercise, meet with my writer's group twice a month, and cook meals, do the laundry clean the house, feed the cats and live my life happily.

Where there is a will, there is a way.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I retired from the residential real estate business 2 years ago. My husband is also retired. We are fortunate to be able to live on our retirement savings, so I don't need to check sales updates obsessively. Does that stop me? No!

I have more time to write than most of you, but I probably write less than many. My husband and I owe each other a lot of personal commitment after so many years of long hours and not much time together.


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## Guest (Jun 16, 2013)

I dropped out of the consumer economy when I graduated in 2010 and learned how to get by on a four-figure income.  This means I only have to work about 20-30 hours a week to get by, and have the rest of my time open for other pursuits.  With book sales trending up, I can get by on even fewer hours than that.

Recently, I took a long-term temp job at a bakery outlet, where I load the local delivery trucks.  It's about 15-20 hours per week, pays twice minimum wage, and allows me to listen to music and podcasts the whole shift.  The only bad thing about it is the hours, but I don't have much of a social life right now anyway, so that wasn't much of a sacrifice.  If things go well, I should be able to save up for an overseas plane ticket by the end of the summer.

I have no wife, no kids, no health conditions (other than a couple of wisdom teeth that still need to be pulled).  I don't drink and I don't smoke.  The only reason I haven't written a bazillion books yet is because I'm horribly self-conscious and play far too much minecraft.

The way my books are selling, I think I may be able to support myself on my royalties alone if I were living in a place like Egypt, or Georgia, or Mongolia.  I'm thinking very seriously about going on another overseas adventure, and will probably do that soon since Utah valley is driving me crazy.  Trouble is, I don't want to go alone--ideally, I want to get married and spend a few years traveling the world with my wife.  But seeing as I don't have much of a social life, the prospects of that happening soon are slim.


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## Guest (Jun 16, 2013)

ElHawk said:


> I also spend an hour a day at the gym, because all this sitting at desks can't be doing good things for my health, and heart disease runs in the family. Plus I've got that 2600-mile hiking trip to condition for.


Sweet! Is that the Pacific Crest Trail? Growing up, the Appalachian trail passed a few miles from my house, so I've always wanted to hike it someday. But I hear the PCT is a lot longer, probably with a lot more elevation gain/loss as well. Good luck!


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## Melisse (Jun 3, 2012)

I work full time in billing for a durable medical equipment company. Hubby has had many health issues(really just one, over and over) and was forced to retire in February after 6 weeks off and on in the hospital. He has not had a foot infection since then and he will get disability soon. We have three college age daughters who are pretty independent financially. We are thinking of selling our house here in Wyoming and moving/downsizing to Colorado. We are trying to work it so I can retire with hubby and write full time. Full time RV Sounds fun!

I haven't published anything new for months and need to get back on that horse!


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

Think of a bag-lady.

Put her in the woods of Vermont.

Add several hundred, still unpacked boxes from California where the bag-lady once worked in the high-tech industry as a nerd, until the last company she was with folded in 2002, and she's been freelancing ever since.

Add an elderly 80-year-old mother.

Add three cats.

There you have it.

*cue Bon Jovi*


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## Zenferno (May 29, 2013)

I live in a hell of my own creation, both real and conceptual.  Hoping to write my way out of it this year.  Also trying to get fit by a mix of running and cycling.  Looking forward to buying a laptop soon and spending summer writing outside.


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## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

34, married, 1.5 cats (one is mine, the other is a stray I'm trying to tame). Not sure which requires more maintenance, the wife or the cat. Both are hard work and deprive me of a lot of sleep.

Work is in a Japanese High School, where schedules can go from very busy to pretty much nothing to do for weeks on end (in school holidays we still have to show up and pretend to work). Those times are bonus writing time, and a couple of years ago I wrote an entire novel on the clock.

I also do some part time work in the evenings and play in a band which requires weekly practices. In order to write I had to cut certain things and those were TV (easy) and 90% of my old social life (not so easy). At present writing (and all that comes with it) is a massive time drain with very little to show for it, although sales are way up on last year. I still barely make back my costs though, and I've long since forgotten what it was like to make any profit. No one in my immediate day to day vicinity takes my writing seriously or considers it a realistic revenue stream, so I continue to do it in quiet corners and in gleeful anonymity, partly to prove the haters wrong and partly because it's been my dreams since primary school.


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

Well, husband, the computer geek, just spent the last week reading the Missing Manual for WordPress, and then knocking together a web site for me all afternoon and long evening. I won't give the url, because it's only half finished, but roughing it in, it looks pretty good. Now, of course, I've got to generate some content for it... There's some place-holder stuff, but not much. But we figured out how to get an Amazon Affiliate link in there... not much, just one reference for the trial of it.

Other than that, tomorrow is going to be a long work day for me, editing a textbook on digital forensics. That's the writing that pays the bills - I've had my week of fun, now it's back to work.


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## Darren Wearmouth (Jan 28, 2013)

I work as an independent contractor in the financial services industry. I love sport, drinking and I'm engaged to a nice lady.

Observing me, people would think that I am completely normal, with a decent, well paid career and a good life. What they don't see is one particular corner of my brain. It's a horrible dark place and there's a noise of a tap constantly dripping. This damp, miserable area is where my writing comes from. 

Don't get me wrong, the area does not make me a nasty or depressed, but it's there and I'm pleased to have found a use for it..


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## LG Castillo (Jun 28, 2012)

I'm a DINK so that leaves me with some free time (okay, lots of free time) to pursue writing stories. 

I work about 50-60 hours a week as a counseling psychology professor. I teach a couple of courses but most of my work is administrative work, guiding students in their dissertation, conducting research, and writing up manuscripts (with my students) to publish in professional journals. So between that and writing fiction, I'm like writing all the time! 

My fingers are tired.


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## Natasha Holme (May 26, 2012)

Great question.

I'm a self-employed web developer (I built my book's website at www.lesbian-crushes-and-bulimia.com). When I'm not sitting at a laptop, I'm sitting at a drum kit.


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## Error404 (Sep 6, 2012)

With so many people posting about their hectic life schedule, I feel like a sloth   I'm currently married, unemployed and living in my parents-in-law's extra house.  I write full-time to see if I can make a go of things and live my dream of financial independence


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## Simon Haynes (Mar 14, 2011)

I have a wife and two teenage daughters, and I'm the primary income earner.

I wrote my first three novels whilst working full time and studying for my second degree part time, in the evenings, which was around the time our kids were under 3 years old. Most days I managed 500 words in my lunch break, when I got one, or by snatching half an hour late at night.

I took a year off in 2005 to work from home, with the goal of making my savings last longer than my desire to avoid the rat race. Fast forward eight years and I'm still working from home, with half a dozen small sources of income that all add up to a modest weekly wage. On the plus side, working from home means no expensive lunches, weekly petrol bills, parking, business suits, dry cleaning bills, etc, etc, so a modest weekly wage covers it. No annual holidays or new cars, obviously, but I'll take the freedom of working from home over those any day.

My writing income is a small piece of the jigsaw puzzle, although the past 12 months have seen me shift my focus from computer programming (my main source of income) to writing. Like I said, working from home means I get to do what I want, more or less, and right now I'm giving fiction another push.

I mentioned computer programming - I'm the guy who designed and wrote yWriter, the novel-writing software.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

I work as a data analyst - my hours are pretty flexible so I try to get in early and leave early so I have plenty of after work time.  I do have a 1hr+ commute each way to work though.  When I've finished the first draft of my current project, I want to get into a routine of using commute time to do paper edits (can't write on the train but figure I can edit).

I have a grown up son who is totally independant but live with my invalid sister (god, that sounds so Jane Austen).  

After reading about ppl's hectic schedules, I feel a bit slack about my "I'm too tired to write tonight" whinges!


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## CEMartin2 (May 26, 2012)

Full time, super stressful/depressing job I hate, two kids, wife, dog. I write mainly on weekends- pulling marathon 7 hour sessions into the wee hours after the kids sleep. Spend too much time trying to promote, proof and plan, which my kids really really dislike. One year in, one to go before i give up this indie stuff and devote more time to family and sleep.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm a Rock'n'Roll legend.


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## KMatthew (Mar 21, 2012)

I have no life. Seriously. I leave the house maybe twice a week and sit in front of the computer the rest of the time.


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## Lyle S Tanner (Apr 5, 2013)

I'm a full time web developer. Monday to Friday, hour commute into and out of the office, where I sit at a computer screen eight hours a day. It's a nice, stable, steady paycheck. I may not enjoy it much anymore, but I definitely like the regular paycheck aspect. 

Other than that, it's writing and hoping my friends forget I exist so I can continue to write. If they remember, then I end up with this vibrant social life that cuts into my writing time by quite a bit. Such a pain. 

Oh, and one day a week is dedicated to helping my parents with their technical difficulties in exchange for free food. An excellent setup and sometimes I can even get a bit of writing done there. 

Incredibly exciting life, I know.


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## crashaddict (Mar 27, 2013)

Full time member of the Nevada Air National Guard here. Means 44+ hours a week plus 1 weekend a month. However, I consider "at work" being the time I spend getting ready, driving to and from, and actually being at work...meaning I spend less than 12 hours a day at home. When you add a couple of boys (3yrs and 7yrs) and a beautiful wife, all of whom I adore -- let's just say daddy doesn't get much time to write. Not if he wants them to adore him too.

I don't get on the computer to write until well after 10pm most nights. And I wake up about an hour earlier than I have to 2x a week to squeeze out a few more words. I'm exhausted all the time. It's just a good thing I love writing so much.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

I work 45-55 hours per week as a writer/editor at an educational game company. The commute is 90 minutes each way, so after factoring in eating, cooking, exercising, caring for the kitties and husband, and keeping the place liveable, it's a pretty busy schedule! I love it though.


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## Writerly Writer (Jul 19, 2012)

Single (partnered, though). Late 20s. Spent most of my life in academia/ running my own business. 

I was running a counselling service full-time but put that aside, mostly, to focus on my writing. I've since started looking for part-time work in research and while I still see the occasional client, I'm mostly focused on my writing which I've realised is a dream come true. I was shocked at how well my book is doing even after a few weeks, and so I'm more motivated than ever to make writing my sole pursuit (still have to pay the bills though). Next year, I'll be undertaking a PhD in psychological theory, and writing on the side (fiction as well) for the future three years. 

I feel extremely privileged and I can't wait for the future  !


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## Michael Murray (Oct 31, 2011)

h.m. ward said:


> I wish the Roomba would grow arms and cook dinner.


OMG THIS and the car that will drive itself (just got done with a 3 hour commute from the west cost of Florida to Miami - if those dang Googlers would finish that car and sell it to me, I could have been writing!.


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## Michael Murray (Oct 31, 2011)

Hugh Howey said:


> My days are dedicated to the fickle whims of my dog.


You are my dog's fantasy...every time I make him stop chasing the cats, I see him think "I could have been owned by Hugh...".


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## TiffanyTurner (Jun 8, 2009)

I pack in writing wherever I can fit it. I teach fourth grade full time. So, I mostly write on Monday, weekends, and the summer. The teaching and writing seem to go hand in hand. I also have a plot in the community garden since condos don't really have backyards. Plus, I wire wrap and make crystal jewelry that I've sold at Life Expos and holiday craft fairs. 

I also play the Gaelic harp at Renaissance Fairs throughout Northern California. In fact, I just got back from a fair. And yes, I put out some bookmarks for my book as well. Why not? People enjoyed the music and learned about my book.   I think I have a new promo angle, the author that plays the harp.


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

I'm a student and full-time writer. I love parrots way more than most people. My wife writes part-time and is getting ready to become a graduate student. Other than that, I'm super boring!


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## sarahdalton (Mar 15, 2011)

I work part-time as an administrator (glorified receptionist). I work in the afternoons and write in the mornings.  It doesn't pay much so I need to earn more from my writing so I can save for a house with my SO. 

No children or pets. I don't really have any hobbies either, so you'd think I get a lot of writing done! Ha! The internet is too much temptation.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

Full time administrator with a 35 mile commute to and from work, single and childless but with two of the neediest cats you'll ever meet, who want ALLLL of Mama's attention and get insanely jealous of the electronic devices that are permanently glued to my fingertips for editing (not that I have a collection or anything. Just two laptops, a netbook and a tablet). Friday nights and Saturday mornings are my time off, and I edit every other hour of the day.

Hopefully at some point I'll be going part time on the day job instead of trying to squish everything in at the expense of sleep!


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## TJHudson (Jul 9, 2012)

Part time self employed gardener. I used to garden full time, but started writing seriously during the many incredibly wet days last year when I couldn't garden. I'm now trying to go completely full time with writing. This is the first thing I've ever done in my life that feels so "right", I just hope it pays off.
I'm very lucky to live with a fiancee who has a steady job and is supporting me during this time of hopeful transition. 
It will be such a big weight off my shoulders if this does pay off as I suffer terribly from migraines. Going self employed gave me greater flexibility with which to work around the migraines, but writing has even more flexibility. If I have a migraine all day and it goes at 2am I can then write if I'm up to it. I can't go gardening in the dead hours of the night!


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## markobeezy (Jan 30, 2012)

I have a wife, a toddler and an infant. I work 45 hours every week and commute around 8 hours per week. I have a house to maintain and I like to exercise often. Writing happens on my lunch breaks, kid breaks, nights and weekends. It's not easy, but it's going to pay off eventually.


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm married with two kids (3 1/2 year-old daughter and 1 1/2 year-old son). I'm a federal government intellectual property attorney, as well as the president of my local RWA chapter for the next 13 days. (But who's counting, right? LOL)


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## Duane Gundrum (Apr 5, 2011)

I have two jobs. I'm a graphic designer for a hospital corporation, and I work as a college professor. Both of them take up way too much time in my life.


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## Rufus Beerman (May 11, 2013)

All very interesting! I posted this early yesterday, read through the first few, then got busy with family things (and a trail run) and fell asleep early for the night. I woke up and was pleasantly surprised to see 57 replies! I almost feel like I fit in, with a similar story to many of you. 

Thanks for sharing!


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm a creative director for a design consultancy. My family and I are relative newcomers to Portland, OR, though I've taken writing vacations in parts of the state for years. We have an incredible 18-month-old daughter. Between trying to be a great father and husband and good at my day job, I write late at night when everyone is asleep. This has been a productive year nonetheless, with four novels in six months, and more coming. (A nice change after spending the last decade-plus NOT finishing a single novel.)

We keep a small zoo, and like Hugh, I'm at the whims of two dogs, two cats and a chinchilla.


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## TwillyJune (May 25, 2012)

This thread should be required reading for John Greene, or Harlan Ellison, or any other author traditionally published who has a bone to pick with SP.  

I know it humbles me to read these kind of threads. Thank you all for sharing your stories.

Basically, my daily life begins at 10am. It ends at 1:00am. Between those 2 times, I sit in my barco-lounger daydreaming about Raymond Chandler, and Jane Austen. They meet, become writing partners, form a writer's group and invite the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, and Jules Verne to join. Verne builds a time machine, and off they all go to visit the land of self-publishing. Three attempts are made on Jane Austen's life. When all the evidence points to the Bronte sisters, the real wannabe killer sits in a barco-lounger laughing. 

Sometimes, I leave my precious chair to tend to the needs of one hubby, two pugs, and three adult kids. Oh yeah, and a house. But those times are rare.


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

Much of my professional, non-writing life was spent guarding things.

Diplomats, business executives, rock stars, movie stars... VIPs.
Sometimes I guarded assets; buildings, bulldozers, ships, schools... non-human things.
Most of the time I worked in some of the most dangerous places in the world - war zones, third world countries where kidnapping is an industry, remote jungles where there is no rule of law - places like that.

Guarding things is like playing the outfield on a baseball team. You spend hours and hours bored to tears, and then every great now and then someone hits a screaming line-drive in your direction. Life becomes far too exciting for a few moments.

During the slow times I dreamed up stories, tales and characters. If my employers only knew.

When you are a professional guard, you have to be... well... ready to protect your charge. This requires a certain level of physical conditioning, stamina and mindset. These requirements become more difficult as you get older, knees and other body parts eventually began to wear down. Like a football player or other professional athlete, you only have so many years of abuse in one body. Passing the physical standards became more and more difficult as the years went by - the reward from the job less and less.

That's why I got out. Unemployment led to several false starts, and then I began writing.

Now I exercise an hour every day, but I do it for fun and to feel better - not because I'm worried I'll have to put down a threat or chase a bad guy. 

I spent lots of time with my kids - somewhat out of guilt for being away so much when they were younger, mostly because I actually like them as human beings.

I still train with my firearms, 4 or 5 times a week, but now it's more like playing pool or throwing darts - not an activity that could be life or death. It's different now. Fun.

The rest of my days are spent writing. I love it. I only require about 4 hours of sleep per day, so I've got plenty of time.


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## Darren Wearmouth (Jan 28, 2013)

Joe_Nobody said:


> Now I exercise an hour every day, but I do it for fun and to feel better - not because I'm worried I'll have to put down a threat or chase a bad guy.


Interesting to hear somebody else say it. I only started enjoying the great outdoors and exercise once I left the forces, before I just saw it as part of my job.


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## Pnjw (Apr 24, 2011)

h.m. ward said:


> Im married w 2 kids that we homeschool (cuz the school sucks by us), plus the baby and a crazy dog. I spent today driving back fm a funeral in NY. I edited my book in the front seat. I wish the Roomba would grow arms and cook dinner. In the meantime, we eat a lot of pizza. Life is kinda crazy, but its always been that way so I don't mind so much. Strike that on the Roomba w arms--too freaky.


You need a Rosie from the Jetsons. We should do a bulk buy.

As for me, I run our glass art business and write full time. One husband, two dogs, a bird, and a porch full of stray cats take up the rest if my time. I also sit on the board for a professional glass organization.


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## brendajcarlton (Sep 29, 2012)

My hubby has a very good job so I "don't work" anymore, since after clothes and commuting costs and pushing us into a higher tax bracket I wouldn't clear any money anyway.  We have six grown kids between us (second marriage) between 27 and 38, and six grandkids so far, so someone always needs something, advice, a shoulder to cry on, rescue from one thing or another, money.  Did I mention money?  We (I say we lightly -- mostly me) grow almost all our own fruits and vegetables and have a ridiculous number of decorative gardens, so my life is controlled mostly by the weather, when I'm not on Mom or Grammy duty.  Planting, harvesting, pruning, weeding, freezing, more weeding, etc.  I always say I don't work out, I just work.  When all the, shall we say "people who have no idea where food comes from" -- that's reasonably politically correct, I think -- are beating each other to death for the last can of beans instead of signing Kum Bah Yah, we'll be eating fresh asparagus and peach cobbler.  All I need is a flock of chickens and a rifle and we could be completely self-sufficient.  I do most of my writing in the winter, but I can usually fit in fifteen or twenty hours a week in the spring and summer.


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## Tim_A (May 25, 2013)

Nominally I'm a self-employed programmer and app designer. But mostly that involves running around chasing contracts, going to interviews an losing out to "Oh we've decided to do it in-house" (i.e. the interviewer stole all your ideas and undercut you). All of which took massive amounts of time and paid only grey hairs. Then  I started writing, which reduced the grey hairs, or at least their rate of growth, but still didn't make much money. I can style myself as a full-time writer though, at least until my cash reserves run out, after which I'll be stacking shelves in Tescos.


Living the life eh?


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## ER Pierce (Jun 4, 2013)

I have four hellions - 3,5,7,9. A flock of chickens, cats, and a husband   I'm lucky enough that my dh owns his own fieldstone company and supports us without me having to 'work' outside the home. Some days I don't sleep, I avoid everyone as much as possible and write like a fiend - then there are the days where my muses are mum, my kids are demanding, and the days go by so fast I didn't even have time to shower. 

I make dinner every night and we sit and eat as a family at 5:15. Then it's homework, showers, some fun and bedtime. At the end of all that - I veg on the couch with my dh so he can have some "me" time.


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## 54706 (Dec 19, 2011)

I love this thread!  I feel like we could all live in the same town, and what an interesting town it would be, too.

Until a few weeks ago, I was working 2-3 days a week as a teacher in a French business university teaching legal and business English.  I moved to southern France (Languedoc region) in 2010 with the fam, and before that lived just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Hugh Howey in Jupiter - he wasn't there yet though.  In the U.S. I was a lawyer.  Now I write full time.  I probably clock in about 70-80 hours a week when you add in all the parts (writing, publishing, promotion).  I'm always working on the business of publishing, seven days a week, even if it's just to drop in on Facebook and answer emails.  I don't consider it work though.  I feel retired, especially when I wander through the vineyards with my doggies during the middle of the day when the rest of the world is working.  

As for personal life ... I eat too much cheese and drink just the right amount of wine and have gained about 20 pounds since I started writing.  I love to cook but love to eat even more.  I am in the process of working on that little (big) problem.  I'm getting ready to start the renovation of a small, ancient barn into a new house for myself, husband and 3 kids (9, 16, and 1.  For now we live in a house that was built back in 1642 by the same family who owns it now.  I'm happily married to a saint who also makes incredible medieval-inspired silver and gold jewelry in his home workshop.  We have 2 dogs and 7 rats.  We used to have 2 rats, then we had 14 rats, now we have 7.  Life is never ever boring.


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

DAWearmouth said:


> Interesting to hear somebody else say it. I only started enjoying the great outdoors and exercise once I left the forces, before I just saw it as part of my job.


Your use of the term "forces" reminds me of working with the London firm, Aegis, on a few contracts. I learned that term as well as Sarn't, randy, legahover (Scottish for 'leg over' I believe) and of course, the proper usage of the word "bloody" as both an adjective and a pronoun.

I had never been called "lad" so much in my life.

Gotta love the SAS though - those boys were defiantly high-speed, low-drag individuals... and brother, they could drink!


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## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

I wake up a little bit after 4am during the week to write for about 90 minutes. Then I run a home preschool for about 11 hours a day and I homeschool my kids. _I make the most of small pockets of time_, editing and rewriting when I can. I'm usually in the editing and/or rewriting process of at least one work while I'm writing at least one more. Instead of writing outlines, I think about them as I'm on the go and then I write notes when I can.

It works for me. I've published 3 novels since late November with another one due out in the end of the summer.


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## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

My day job is 100% commission which can be a bit stressful, but is mostly, just crazy busy, tons of hours cuz am also self-employed. Past two months have been non-stop as I've been dealing with getting a mortgage (not fun when you are self-employed)...but managed to buy my first home after renting for years and am now mid-move, clearing out the old place and seeing the boxes pile up in the new one. Once they're all unpacked though I should have more time and as it turns out, my next door neighbor is a published mystery writer which is very cool.


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## BellaRoccaforte (May 26, 2013)

Married, five kids ages 19, 16, 14, 5 and a 4 y/o who is special needs. Running a marketing agency, a very demanding blog. Nobody else in the house even knows that we own a vacuum or a duster so that's all me too! and my husband, though I love him, his more of a hindrance than a help.

I started this little adventure at the end of December 2012, spent a month trying to recover my triple backed up manuscript and failed (the universe hates me). My first book of 60k words went to the editor today and I'm 5k words into book 2. 

The answer for me is simple - I sleep about three hours a night.


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## Clark Magnan (May 23, 2013)

I work as a grunt scientist/educator at a university - one of those odd, niche jobs that no one's ever heard of. I also have a part-time teaching gig in the evenings.

I'm married and we bought a 120+ year old house that needs a lot of work, so that's been my weekends for 3 years. I also run (I was a marathoner before the house purchase) and dabble at woodworking and concocting home brews. 

Only in the last six months have I instituted a daily word goal and that has hastened my productivity greatly. I've written hundreds of thousands of words, though finishing and publishing still escape me. I write a little at work, in between the two jobs, and a lot in the evening during the week. Once I sit down to write, I can't play or go to sleep until I hit my magic number.


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## Rufus Beerman (May 11, 2013)

Does anyone else sit down with the best intentions of writing, but instead get too caught up in Reddit and it's time for bed/work/kids to be home?


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## BellaRoccaforte (May 26, 2013)

rufusbeerman said:


> Does anyone else sit down with the best intentions of writing, but instead get too caught up in Reddit and it's time for bed/work/kids to be home?


Twitter/FB/kb but that's ok, it's research and marketing for my books!


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

I am trying to make a go of it as a writer. I was self-employed for 20 twenty years in advertising sales. Sold for NFL fan newspapers for most of that time.

I also am an artist. I babysit my soon to be 2 year old grandson by love (we are childless by choice, but our neighbors son considers us grandma and grandpa and they do, too. So do we) during the school year. My husband works, but makes a very average wage. I had breast cancer 3 years ago and realized that if no one is guaranteed any amount of time, so if I things I wanted to do I had better do them. (Not that I'm going to die of cancer. It is gone and it was only stage 0. I just realized now that death is very real and none of us is guaranteed anything past this second.)

So, we are living off our 401k (early, a real gamble) and my husband's wages. We are risking everything for my chance at this. Yep, it's scary, but not as scary as living my whole life doing something I wasn't meant to be doing.



> I love parrots way more than most people.


Cool! We are owned by an African Grey and a White-capped Pionus parrot.


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

I've learned over the past couple of years that for me to be successful, I needed to simplify my life as much as possible. In 2011-12 I was still teaching full time and writing 4 books a year. I have 4 children and a husband and a house to take care of as well, plus all the promotional demands. The first thing I did when I started making money (after paying off all of our debt) was to take steps to make life easier for all of us so I could focus on the writing and keep making more money. My sole goal is to focus on the writing. I have to do that above all else. So I no longer teach, we have a housekeeper, my husband takes care of laundry, we have someone to deal with the lawn etc. My husband is also my full-time assistant so he takes care of website maintenance and moderating my street team. I still answer emails personally, do guest interviews and blog posts, and I travel 1-2 weeks out of every month for signings or events, so that's really the only thing that takes time away from writing. So now I write 6 books a year and 2-3 novellas. I'd like to say that like has gotten easier with success and that I have all the extra time in the world to write, but even with the added help of the housekeeper and my husband, I still have mountains of things that only I can do, and the more successful you are, the bigger the mountain. The added help around the house has made it possible for me to do those necessary things and still keep my sanity, or at least most of it   

Writing is hard, and the longer you do it and the more books you write, the harder it gets. You keep telling yourself, "If I can just get my career to this point, then I can take a break or things will get easier," and unfortunately that's just not true. I had to make myself take a vacation these last couple of weeks. No computers or internet in sight. Now I'm back and have a couple of thousands emails to wade through and a book to finish by the middle of next month, so all the tension is back in my shoulders that disappeared over the last week or so. But I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything.


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## cecilia_writer (Dec 28, 2010)

I work full-time as a database manager in an art gallery, and in some of my 'spare' time I am the chairperson of a community centre management committee and I help with props at an amateur theatre group. I fit in writing by (during first drafts) doing several hundred words when I get up in the morning, another few hundred in my lunch-break and anything up to 1,000 words in the early evening. My sons are grown-up, I'm estranged from my husband, so really I only have my three cats depending on me!
About seven years ago my younger brother died of a heart attack, and that was my wake-up call - I had 'always' wanted to be a writer, and as someone else has said, the idea of this being my only chance at life made me actually sit down and write in an organised way for the first time.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

TiffanyTurner said:


> I also play the Gaelic harp at Renaissance Fairs throughout Northern California.


Say hello to Belle Star from me, if she shows up. Her son told me last time that she has pretty much retired. I miss fair since moving to WA. I was a washerwoman. Here I am at the washing well at Black Pointe Forest in Novato, CA, in 1989.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

Right now my income is 40% voice work, 60% writing. For the most part, I do most of my voice work from my home studio (sometimes I have to go to studio and record there for certain clients.) I have some flexibility when I can do my work, but I have a few clients that need a quick turn around on projects (like, asap!) so in some ways I'm on call and need to notify certain folks if I won't be available for the day.  It can be difficult to drop my writing and shift to voice work and then back again. Sometimes I have trouble picking up my thread of creativity.  I love working at home, not having a commute, not having to get dressed up anymore. Some days I don't make it out of the pjs! But I do get lonely. I miss the camaraderie of friends at work.

I have two kids 12 and 9, and my productivity plummets when they're at home, so summer break, oh boy. I don't get much done. I have two cats, a dog, a pond full of koi fish and many gardens that keep me busy outside. My hubby works the night shift (4pm to 5am) so in many ways I feel like a single parent.  Would love to hit it big with a book so he could quit.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

I am blessed to have a talented web developer of a husband who pays off my student loans and supports my many unprofitable creative endeavors as long as our child makes it to school, laundry is clean, fridge is stocked, and floors are swept. And as long as I don't spend so much at the craft store that we can't pay our bills, which I don't. He is lucky I am also relatively frugal. 

That said, he would certainly prefer that one or more of my creative endeavors turned a profit eventually. So I'll bank on the writing gig, since that's what I went to school for, and since I'm too shy to be a rock star, and since I only just started the drawing thing recently (and artists don't make any money anyway), and since I have little interest the more lucrative forms of photography like weddings and children (other than my own child). I would also prefer that one of my creative endeavors turned a profit, since I am well aware that (for one reason or another) husbands and/or their cushy jobs are never 100%. I would like to have the means to support myself and my child, if that need ever arose. 

As for what my "life" is like -- laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. You would not believe how many clothes three people can wear!  

My son is going into the second grade next fall, so I have the days to myself nine months of the year. I write in spurts (by write, I mean browse Tumblr and click on Twitter links), and I clean (badly) in spurts, while listening to good music and daydreaming. The other three months of the year I spend entertaining my son and we travel, mostly. And I take a lot of pictures. And I build elaborate neighborhoods for my Sims.


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

Caddy said:


> Cool! We are owned by an African Grey and a White-capped Pionus parrot.


I love both of those beautiful birds! On a side note, after I replied to your post, I told my wife that our Blue Crown (Princess Leia) was way too spoiled for her own good, and Princess Leia cackled and blew me a kiss. Yep, we're definitely owned by our parrots, and they know it.


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## Dee Ernst (Jan 10, 2011)

You are all so inspiring!  I quit the day job last winter and have gained 15 pounds from sitting behind a computer all day instead of running my tail off from one end of a Barnes&Noble to the other.  My at-home daughter is 16, my older daughter is on the opposite coast,and my husband is a programmer who keeps asking when HE can quit.  I'm writing 3-4 hours a day now, spending another 2-3 hours doing promo stuff and trolling for reviews.  I love to cook (and eat) and have a great garden, the world's best in-laws, and great friends.  It took me quite a while to get into a working groove, but I'm taking my inspiration from Elle!  I love my life right now, and I know how incredibly lucky I am to be able to do this.


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## kea (Jun 13, 2011)

Dalya said:


> My life is a disaster.


Oh, Dalya! I'm sending you a {hug}! That was exactly what I was thinking I would post after reading this thread. And there is your post...saying the same thing! My husband was laid off 6 months ago...no job yet. I have to quit my PT job with very few hours and hope I nail an upcoming interview at Trader Joes for more hours and benefits, which will mean less writing/editing/promo time. Two elderly parents in a health mess, umpteen appliances breaking, wondering if we'll wind up losing the house over time.... this was NOT my life a year and half ago! 
On an up note: My one of my best friends just came back from overseas for the summer. And I have two amazing kids


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## bellaandre (Dec 10, 2010)

Real life? What's that?!?! 

Writing, revising, making covers, writing book descriptions, going for a walk with my husband, going for a swim, having a good meal with my family, doing more writing, doing more revising, finally answering all the emails that have piled up and fitting in radio/blog interviews, falling into bed..then waking up and doing it all again! 

It's fun to hear about everyone else's life!

 Bella


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Rufus Beerman said:


> Hi everyone,
> I've been lurking for a while. I tried finding a post similar to this, but couldn't. Sorry if it's a repeat.
> 
> I see a lot of people on here who post a ton here AND write a ton. How in the world do you have so much time? What do you do for work? Do you have families?
> ...


Rufus,

I'm pretty open about the generalities of my day-to-day life.

I live in Oregon with my wife and my 90-year-old father, who my wife and I look after. We have two cats, a dog, but no kids.

I have a work-from-home "editorial services" job that takes up about 30 hours a week and brings in the bulk of my modest income.

I do my writing in the wee hours. If I can motivate myself not to just goof off and call it "working on my novel."

It's easy not to goof off in three conditions or situations:

1) When I'm just starting a new project.

2) When I'm nearing the end of a project and about to wrap it up and put it out there.

3) When I'm writing a particularly fun part of any project.

Which means I goof off more than I should.  Goofing off includes posting here too often, or getting caught up in the YouTube time-suck vortex, or something like that.

However, even with the goofing off, over the past two years plus, I've published about 100K under my own name, another 100K under a pen name I never reveal, and recently completed a novel about 102K in length all by itself, and I'm now starting one new novel (SIN) and trying to get myself to finish up a second one that's been on the back burner far too long (32K or so, to date).

So, in the space of two years, I've written something like 170K words a year, on average, though a good chunk of that -- about half, actually -- are in projects that have not been published yet.

NOTE: I also fill in at my local house of worship, writing an average of six messages a year. Give or take. Each is about 6K in length, so add another 30K words for that.


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## Bec (Aug 24, 2012)

At the moment, I work full time (9 hrs a day, 9 days a fortnight) as a technical writer for a software company. No kids yet, just me and my partner. I have a few evenings a week to myself, and most Saturday's, when I try to get a lot of writing done. Try. 

Life for us is going to be turned up on it's head in about 3-4 months though, when we quit our jobs and move to Australia. Home for me, somewhere new for my partner. I've been away for over 4 years, so I'm sure it will be a bit of an adventure for me too!


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## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

Love the life stories so much. Thank you all.

As I've said around here before, I turn 60 this year. What I haven't said is that I have serious health issues. When I tell you that my life right now mirrors my fantasy life when I did the exercises in "Wishcraft" maybe 25 years ago, you might appreciate the irony, because we are financially secure, happy together, but I have trouble doing all I want because I am somewhat disabled.

After 18 years of marriage my beloved husband is able to sustain us financially and with insurance, etc. We have two cats and no kids. I am free every day to spend my time however I want. It's exactly what I dreamed of.

But what I didn't consider when I wrote out my life's vision is that I have chronic health issues. I have a home and family and all the support I could want. I have all the time of every day. And maybe a small piece of that is actually workable for me. I am sick and dizzy and have trouble working.

But turning 60 does concentrate the mind, right? So I know this is my chance to do what I've always wanted to do. The only chance I may have. So every week I chip out a little time when the brain is cooperative to write a little more, and a little more, and then a bit more...

Because this time now is all I have. And writing is what I've always wanted to do. Use your time wisely, everyone. It goes faster than you imagine.


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

bellaandre said:


> Real life? What's that?!?!
> 
> Writing, revising, making covers, writing book descriptions, going for a walk with my husband, going for a swim, having a good meal with my family, doing more writing, doing more revising, finally answering all the emails that have piled up and fitting in radio/blog interviews, falling into bed..then waking up and doing it all again!
> 
> ...


Yeah, but Miss Bella - you're a writing machine! How you, Miss Hart and Miss Ward pump out so many quality books is amazing. I publish 4 full length novels in a year and I think I'm superman. You guys smoke me.


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## laurenmckellar (Jun 18, 2013)

I hear ya! I commute two hours each way, edit a magazine and somehow find time to focus on freelance editing and bash out the odd novel every now and then. This is definitely my 'you've worked hard; now off you go and socialise' place, hehe


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## Fast Typist (May 9, 2013)

Attorney by day + writer by night = not enough sleep.  Add ten hours commute a week, two teenagers at home, some church work, husband who occasionally wants attention, and this means the laundry almost never gets done.

Am looking forward to the time when I can pay someone else to cook, clean and mow the lawn.

However, I am having a great time.  I've been writing and submitting for more than 25 years and although I came close a few times, my books were always a little too quirky, or too clean (as romances got steamier).  My books are similar to 1930's screwball comedies:  good people in increasingly chaotic situations.  I'm thrilled to be publishing my own books.  

Beverly


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## davidfclark (May 16, 2013)

It's cool to see the diverse backgrounds of everyone. I'm 34, married with four young boys, and am a neurologist. I'll consider myself lucky if I can pound out another novel by next year.


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## Alexandra C (Jun 4, 2013)

Enjoying this thread so much. I'm lucky that my husband's job supports us. Right now he's working a lot of overtime which is great because it pays for my marketing, editing and covers. The downside is I miss him  .  I live in the Northeast and look forward to spending some time in the water. I only get a few months of sun and fun in. Maybe one day that will change and my writing can fund a vacation house someplace warm.  We don't have any kids and my husband is very low maintenance. Take out is my best friend.  My foodie addiction requires me to leave the house once a day.  I also planted a flower and garden this year to ensure outdoor time as well.

So that leaves me lots of free time to write.....or waste time.  Today I wasted time but tomorrow is a new day.


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## JamieCampbell (May 29, 2013)

I quit my full-time mega stressful job as a Chartered Accountant 18 months ago so I could write more. I was done with the whole tax stuff.

Now, I do contract accounting (same stuff but on my terms), working about 3-4 days a week and writing the rest of the time. I do a thousand words each and every day as a minimum.

Single, no kids, just a dog that bosses me around. Currently looking for a husband, so you if know someone...  [Yes, I am shameless].


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## Lindsay Harrison (May 17, 2013)

A career in management (marketing and then general) which took me all over Australia and then the world, including six years in China as GM and principal of a massive private school, and later, university lecturer. I could write a book about what I saw there but no one would believe it. Actually, I sort of did. Emails to friends became a 900-strong readership but I didn't see the value then in having a following. I wrote textbooks and management pieces, and grillions of words for business, including a small business marketing book that was put forward for a national design award (I didn't bother).

Years of having friends hector me to write commercially but in a non-management/education context led to four eBooks, which I consider to be target practice. None are in genres I like, which was part of the challenge, so the time wasn't wasted. Now, I'm back in Australia after a lot of travelling (10 countries in two years), and I thought I might write a novel while I was here and before I head off to England. The four I mentioned were the result, plus three others I haven't uploaded, another in production, and plans for nine more.

I sound more self-directed and motivated than I am. I'm single and have been for quite some time, 53 this coming Friday (send money, preferably $100 and $50 notes), and I like torturing myself by examining my weaknesses and then getting into smack-downs with them. That takes a lot of time. Occasionally I win.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

I am 34, have a supportive wife, and a cat (no kids and won't ever have any). I live downtown in a loft in Victoria (Canada) and ride my bike (no car). Groceries are delivered to our door by our local food store (that's how we get our bulk food). I have no debts and few expenses, so I can scrape by working two days a week with almost any job (right now I'm looking for new work actually).

(Just wanted to throw something else in brackets because I'm noticing a trend in my post [why stop there?]).

I write for about 10-12 hours a day. I used to have a great social life, play video games, and make music (released three albums) - but I'd rather write at this point in my life. In the future will balance music career and writing career a little better, but definitely want to get writing career off the ground first. I hope to get it to a point where music + writing career pay for my life and still give me a cushion to have some fun with. Especially would like to take wife to Hawaii for second honeymoon sometime.

For fun I enjoy flying full checklist 737-600 flight simulations (and the like), as well as watch movies.

Love this community very much and feel privileged to get to know you. I also thank you all for sharing your knowledge. I hope to be able to contribute in due course with my own numbers and feedback.

-Sever


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

Saw this on Facebook today and thought it was appropriate:










As for my life being a disaster ... we're moving house this month, so that's part of it. However, I feel blessed we can move and will soon have laundry and a healthier environment.

I don't know why I work as hard as I do. I have some theories. I need purpose in life. I've had healthier ones than this, but this is what I'm doing now.

It's important to remember that you had problems before you started writing. There's a tendency for writers to pin the day's bad feelings on something to do with the books. It's not always the books!


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## DevelopmentHell (Apr 3, 2013)

I graduated in April with my second bachelors and started a new career. I'm currently commuting 68 miles one way. I get up at 430a to be at work by 6. My only writing time now that I'm done with school is 6-730a. Not as much as I'm used to, but it's better than nothing.


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

The checklist goes like this; wallet, passport, phone, laptop, bag, gone. I've forgotten what it's like to stay in one place for long, though sometimes I think about it. Maybe one day. Not today, though.


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## oliviamadone (Jun 16, 2013)

I spend most of my time on my other 2 businesses, graphic design and online bead sales. My sister and I have done a few children's books together and have more in the works. I also want to write some other things so I am trying to figure out a way to make it happen. I live in the South where people (including family) don't understand this work from home thing. I can count the times I've left home this year on my hands. I have a great partner that takes care of the grocery shopping and cleaning. No children, but I do have 4 orange cats that I treat like children. Oh, and I'll be 34 on Saturday. Woohoo!


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## CASD57 (May 3, 2014)

Thought I would revive this.....
I work a 42 hour day job..
I work a 3-4 hour night job
I maintain a Travel type web site
I'm writing a Novelette (11,000 plus) once every 4-6 weeks I squeeze in writing in the mornings before work, lunch time, before second job and after second job, I squeeze in web site time when I get bored/distracted with writing..ADD hahaha


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## JenEllision (Jan 13, 2014)

Until recently, I was only able to eke about a few thousand words a week around a full-time job and social life-- I was a marketing assistant. Buttt, I was laid off on Thursday, so I expect I'll have a bit more writing time while I job hunt. ^_~


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

I mostly post when I can't do other things.  I have 3 kids, aged 1 to 11, and I homeschool.  I've written 286,000 words this year.

Actually, Holly's and my homelives are almost identical.  Spooky.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Let's see... I'm married to a public school teacher (AP US History / AP Human Geography / AP Government), so we're poor. This is nothing new to me, as I grew up under a single mom on welfare / food stamps. 

I spent almost twenty years in high tech, from security to networking to game development to overclocking to removing pornography from business / residential computers. A LOT of pornography. Most men cannot seem to avoid looking at internet pornography (let's see if I get a few angry messages from righteous types who claim they don't look at porn). Even at work. Especially at work. 

These days, I write full-time whenever I'm not trying to commit homicide on my five cats (or avoiding them murdering me... it's an uneasy truce like the DMZ in Korea). When my hated neighbors are home, I'm playing heavy metal on my guitar with a Marshall half stack as loud as my earplugs will allow (hopefully blowing out their eardrums). Or I'm patrolling our garden, looking for unruly insects or weeds to annihilate. 

I play ice hockey (non-competitive, I want to live / walk / not have to be hooked up to a breathing machine). I love video games but rarely play them anymore. Totally hooked on Game of Thrones, Homeland, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Californication, and other stuff (otherwise, the only thing I watch on TV is The Daily Show, South Park, and NHL hockey). 

I'm currently a fugitive from justice in four South American countries, have had my passport revoked in the EU and most of southeast Asia. When I'm not smuggling tons of heroin across the border of Mexico, I'm in my lab with my hired scientists attempting to create an apocalyptic super-bug that won't actually kill anyone, it will just make them a lot nicer to those they disagree with. I've hired two captains / executive henchmen to help me out when my back goes wonky (it locks up a lot, old injury from baseball... er, I mean from a gang war in Juarez). 

Mostly I'm just boring and tend to never stfu. Which is why I come here to annoy all of you.


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## Sonya Bateman (Feb 3, 2013)

My real life? Crap.

My fake life is also crap.

I don't even know what I'm doing here...

Crap.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

I'm a superhero. 

SHHHH, IT'S A SECRET.


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## steffmetal (May 8, 2014)

I love this thread! It’s really interesting reading about how everyone fits writing into their schedules.

I wrote my first six books (which I’m publishing this year) while I worked a full-time job at a charity and freelanced 20+ hours a week. It was tough, but I saved the money to go on some amazing travel and a downpayment on our home. My dream was to be a freelance writer, which I got to do for about a year before completely burning out on the stress. It wasn’t the work so much as the constant need to be ON - you couldn’t just go home and be done with it - there were always 100 emails from anxious clients waiting for you. I couldn’t relax. One of my clients offered me a permanent position - same work I’d been doing, but less stress, more benefits. So here I am, writing blog posts for a software company, and loving every minute of it.

I still do a little bit of freelance writing work, but I’m now focusing my efforts on what I REALLY want to do; writing fiction. I’m starting by editing and publishing all those books I wrote that got to various stages along the publishing journey (even got picked up by a Big Name Publisher, only to be dropped with a restructure). I work from home 3 days a week, and my home is a 4-acre off-grid lifestyle block (I think you’d call it a “homestead” in the US) so I’ve got animals and a big garden to maintain.

I fit writing in between 5am-8am (which is when I start work) on the days I work from home, and sometimes in the evenings or weekends. It is slower than I’d like, but at least I have a back catalogue of books to release while I’m finishing my new book.

I’m “not quite” 30, married with no kids but two capricious cats, an insanely busy social life, an endless slew of DIY projects (we built our own house), and a blog about heavy metal music that needs regular maintenance. I also co-run an ecommerce store selling funky socks, follow my husbands band around on tour, and brew my own wine and mead. PHEW!


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## Shalini Boland (Nov 29, 2010)

I've got a hubby who's a freelance copywriter and two young boys. I've just set up a new business which is taking up more of my time than I anticipated (50+ hours over a 7 day week). I'm desperate to finish the 3rd book in my 2nd trilogy, but not sure how to do it at the moment without falling asleep at the laptop.

I did have time for a game of badminton in the garden with my kids today, so it's all good


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## Victoria LK (Jan 31, 2014)

I have my own gardening service where I design, install and maintain custom gardens for upscale clients.  That takes a huge chunk of my life.  My husband works with me, so that helps.  My son is graduating in 2 weeks and heading off to college (for journalism) in Aug.  We have pets and a nice little home in south FL, on the coast above Palm Beach.  During the summer is really the only time I can seriously write-a large portion of my clients are away and that finally gives me some time for me   There have a been a lot of late night writing to get me going, and there are probably many more in my future...until I hit it big of course


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Until last Thursday, I was an over the road truck driver, working up to 70 hours a week. When I was home, I worked a subsistence garden. Most of my writing was done during mandatory 10 hour breaks on the road.

Since Thursday, I'm a full time writer.


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## AriadneW (Feb 16, 2013)

I work full time as a Service Delivery Manager for a telecommunications company. I order internet connections for people and setup VOIP services for customers from residential to corporate and government. It can be demanding and stressful. My husband works for the same company as a network engineer. 

We have two children (3 and 9) who keep me busy outside of work. And I squeeze writing into every available moment I can find, which often means late nights, but I do take my laptop to work every day so I sometimes get things done during my lunch break. 

As crazy busy as my life gets, I love my job and don't plan on changing anything. Though I will admit the older my children get, the easier it is to find more time for me.


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## Christa Wick (Nov 1, 2012)

Hugh Howey said:


> My days are dedicated to the fickle whims of my dog.


So your day is basically like this? http://textfromdog.tumblr.com


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## CrissyM (Mar 14, 2012)

I'm a single mom of three, and a manager at a little store. I also struggle to keep my computer running as this year the mother board went out. So... I spend a lot of time at work, then come home to check on my teenagers, then call my boyfriend up and see what he's up to. I help the kids with homework. Try to get the house cleaned. Feed the cat and the snake. Then sit down to relax for a but.

Around 10pm the kids go to their room so I can have the living room. I have till 1am to write, or play a game depending on what my brain will allow. Most of the time I get a few more words in on the manuscript. Sometimes the stress of my personal life takes it's toll and I veg in front of the computer. Or did, till it broke.

Then there are days I spend with the boyfriend. Love him to death but I wish he'd move in so he took less time.

After all of this STUFF going on I still wrote more than 100,000 words since October. 70k of it to my novel. I'm ok with that.


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## ericaroswell (Apr 17, 2014)

I'm a lawyer. I'm married and we have a baby on the way in a couple months. This is our second child but our first was stillborn.  We also have pets.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

I have some health issues that make my life pretty crappy sometimes.

I try to use my "extra" time for writing, since I can't always do many other things.  

Also, I'm a pretty fast typist and always have more ideas than I can keep up with.  But mostly it's the health issues that give me so much time to write.

I would rather be healthy, but am just trying to make the best of things as they are, not as I wish they were.


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## Sylvia R. Frost (Jan 8, 2014)

I'm a lucky ass twenty something living with a wonderful boyfriend owns his own condo (all paid off, got it during the foreclosure crisis) and business. I have a job working at classical music radio station, freelance social media work, free-lance cover design and freelance opera sing. No kids. I probably work about 4-5 days a week tbh. Means I'm poor but blessed with a decent amount of free time. Living the lucky life of limited responsibility and unlimited opportunity. Don't know for how much longer, but man is it sweet at the moment.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

This thread was fun to read. I was off KB last summer when this was making the rounds the first time.

At the moment, I teach writing at a university in California. I'm a contingent faculty member, which means there's no job security -- I work year to year, semester to semester, course to course, as needed. Such jobs are very common in academia, now. I believe 70% of higher ed positions are now non-tenure. Mine is far better than most contingent jobs, so I'm lucky. It's also fun and satisfying. I work with a lot of low-income, first-generation college students whose first or home language is not English; helping them improve their academic writing feels directly useful. In some cases, it might make the difference between their ending up with a college degree and not. But the job is very time-consuming, especially with the commute added in. I'd say it's about 50 hours/week, all told.

I had a more impressive academic job until last year but left it because my husband and I just were not able to get jobs in the same location any other way. We'd been living separately since 2006, hoping to both get tenure-track jobs in the same place, but eventually we gave up on it. So, I won't be having the academic career I trained for ... which means I also won't be having the publish-or-perish stress that goes along with it. Instead of the research, I can write fiction. It's not a bad trade-off. Too bad about the pay-cut, though.  

We have two four-year-olds. They're incredibly cute, if I do say so myself.

I get writing done very, very slowly. There's just not much time to give to it. Hopefully, in the coming years, I'll learn to create and protect bigger blocks of writing time.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Rufus Beerman said:


> Hi everyone,
> I've been lurking for a while. I tried finding a post similar to this, but couldn't. Sorry if it's a repeat.
> 
> I see a lot of people on here who post a ton here AND write a ton. How in the world do you have so much time? What do you do for work? Do you have families?
> ...


I write WAY too much on kboards and other forums mainly because I "work" 24/7 in my home office. This past year is my first writing full time. I've heard what people call writing full time, debating this meaning or that. I don't care what everyone else calls it. My definition is that I have no other income and would starve without writing! Hahah!

I don't do anything else BUT writing/publishing/marketing related stuff... so i consider things like kboards and other online writing as a sort of entertainment, and some times a research or learning experience. Any other time of the week I am reading (not nearly enough these days) housework, shopping, and looking after my Koi and dog. I live alone in my own home so "real life" is, according to my brother and friends, ALL leisure time for me!


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## Gone To Croatan (Jun 24, 2011)

Oddly enough, I'm usually most productive on business trips; I generally get sent to customer sites in the middle of nowhere (or, at least, far from tourist areas), so if it's not one of the trips when I'm doing fifteen hour days setting up new hardware, that normally leaves a few hours in the evenings with nothing much to do other than write. I went on one trip for a week, and came back with about 30,000 words of my 'Horror Movie' novel that I'm currently trying to complete.

Otherwise, a lot depends on how busy my day job is; it tends to be either rushing around trying to get things finished on schedule, or looking for useful things to do because there are no big deadlines or new products in the pipeline. I had a decent run of free time from about October to March, but then I was called in to assist with a recent news event, so I only got back to writing much around the beginning of May.

And it would help if the hamster hadn't got her exercise ball stuck under the chair in the kitchen eight times so far tonight so I have to keep getting up and extracting her .


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## ecg52 (Apr 29, 2013)

I have two jobs other than my writing. The first one is restoring old photographs. Or new ones if they've been damaged. The second one is selling real estate. I write when I have time which is usually 2 to 3 hours a day - sometimes more, sometimes less. I would love to write full time but it doesn't pay the bills yet so I just plugging away.


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## LanelleH (Jul 4, 2013)

I work in a crappy call center for eight hours per day (feels longer) and I have to listen to people yell, curse, and be generally horrible to me about billing issues.    My life is uneventful and boring, no boyfriend or kids.  But I live in an awesome apartment with my older sister and plan to travel to Japan for a year to study the language.  I'm also into fashion/make up, with a beauty blog + youtube channel I update regularly.  I actually have a good amount of time to write but due to my commute, stress from work, and mental/health issues it's been a struggle to find muse to write.  So recently I bought a mini laptop and plan to just write at work and see how that goes.


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## Nymirra (Mar 15, 2014)

I got tired of being rejected for jobs (You aren't working? We won't let you work! So you can't work, because you don't work... And on, and on), so I decided to turn to writing as my full time profession. Completely insane, given that when I decided to do it, I wasn't making a tenth of what I needed to. I had a little money saved up, though, and things are looking up a little now, even if it's summer. At the absolute worst, I'll have to move in with my parents for a few months. I'm 27, so I guess there would be bigger disasters in the world than that. 

I've also been a hopeless shut-in for 5-6 years due to various mental issues that I'm luckily getting over. I haven't developed any long-lasting relationships because of that, I don't have a car and live in a really cheap place. I guess, if one's going to make it as an author, I'm in about the best situation possible. I can spend all day writing, and my expenses are minimal.


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## alawston (Jun 3, 2012)

I have a moderately responsible job in [magazine] publishing, and various time-consuming hobbies, the most demanding of which is amateur dramatics. I write when I can, which tends to be in the pub in the evenings, and when I'm feeling particularly motivated, during my lunch hour at work. But I just accept that there will be times when other commitments will come first and I just won't be able to write very much for a few months.


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## Kj (Jan 17, 2014)

> Until last Thursday, I was an over the road truck driver, working up to 70 hours a week. When I was home, I worked a subsistence garden. Most of my writing was done during mandatory 10 hour breaks on the road.
> 
> Since Thursday, I'm a full time writer.


Congrats! 

I'm so impressed... It sounds like a lot of you are working crazy hours and raising kids and volunteering and travelling and caring for family members... and you still find time to write and publish. Hats off to you!

I work full-time at a fairly stressful job (anywhere between 35-50 hours a week, depending on what kind of week it is) and write an average of 700-1000 words per day depending on the month... and that's about it. Husband and I travel around the state on weekends, but our main hobbies are Netflix and recovering from work/school. This thread is making me realize I REALLY don't have any excuses for not being more prolific...


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## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

I'm single and I've been a student for nearly 4 years (currently taking a one-year Master's: I have some exams starting at the end of next week   ).

After that I'll be starting my PhD program in September, which will keep me off the streets for another 3 years or so. 

"Finding time to write" is evidently easier for me than for many here, by the sound of it: I don't really understand how some, with endless work and family commitments, have managed it at all.


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## S. Elliot Brandis (Dec 9, 2013)

I work a 40 hour week as an engineer, live in a smallish apartment with my girlfriend of six years, and write every morning at 5:15 am


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

I just realized that I'm ruining my image.    I arise from by downy couch at 6am, whereupon I have a breakfast of granola and yogurt brought to me by my French maid Marie, after which I sit beside my infinity pool and watch Paulo the pool boy and write write in a desultory manner.  The British nanny Sophia wakes, dresses, and feeds the children the meal prepared by Etienne, after which they come and recite their lessons prettily before the governess Gretchen whisks them off for the day's work.  Then I pad upstairs, make mad love to my husband before he leaves for work, and then it's more writing, this time with Sven massaging me before Gertie the personal trainer arrives.  My afternoon writing session (after Etiene cooks lunch) is always done with champagne in the bubble bath, with Hans and Franz rubbing my feet, and then Gretchen takes the children to all their activities while I recline on my couch, eating bon-bons and writing a bit more.  Finally, Etienne serves dinner--always by candle light--which we enjoy quietly as a family before reading books to the children and sending them off with Sophia to get washed and tucked into bed.  More writing--by firelight, of course--and then more mad love (usually on an antique tigerskin rug, or else on priceless Persian carpets), and finally bed.

Yeah.  That's my day.


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## Shalini Boland (Nov 29, 2010)

vmblack said:


> I just realized that I'm ruining my image.  I arise from by downy couch at 6am, whereupon I have a breakfast of granola and yogurt brought to me by my French maid Marie, after which I sit beside my infinity pool and watch Paulo the pool boy and write write in a desultory manner. The British nanny Sophia wakes, dresses, and feeds the children the meal prepared by Etienne, after which they come and recite their lessons prettily before the governess Gretchen whisks them off for the day's work. Then I pad upstairs, make mad love to my husband before he leaves for work, and then it's more writing, this time with Sven massaging me before Gertie the personal trainer arrives. My afternoon writing session (after Etiene cooks lunch) is always done with champagne in the bubble bath, with Hans and Franz rubbing my feet, and then Gretchen takes the children to all their activities while I recline on my couch, eating bon-bons and writing a bit more. Finally, Etienne serves dinner--always by candle light--which we enjoy quietly as a family before reading books to the children and sending them off with Sophia to get washed and tucked into bed. More writing--by firelight, of course--and then more mad love (usually on an antique tigerskin rug, or else on priceless Persian carpets), and finally bed.
> 
> Yeah. That's my day.


*Swoony sigh*


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

vmblack said:


> I just realized that I'm ruining my image.  I arise from by downy couch at 6am, whereupon I have a breakfast of granola and yogurt brought to me by my French maid Marie, after which I sit beside my infinity pool and watch Paulo the pool boy and write write in a desultory manner. The British nanny Sophia wakes, dresses, and feeds the children the meal prepared by Etienne, after which they come and recite their lessons prettily before the governess Gretchen whisks them off for the day's work. Then I pad upstairs, make mad love to my husband before he leaves for work, and then it's more writing, this time with Sven massaging me before Gertie the personal trainer arrives. My afternoon writing session (after Etiene cooks lunch) is always done with champagne in the bubble bath, with Hans and Franz rubbing my feet, and then Gretchen takes the children to all their activities while I recline on my couch, eating bon-bons and writing a bit more. Finally, Etienne serves dinner--always by candle light--which we enjoy quietly as a family before reading books to the children and sending them off with Sophia to get washed and tucked into bed. More writing--by firelight, of course--and then more mad love (usually on an antique tigerskin rug, or else on priceless Persian carpets), and finally bed.
> 
> Yeah. That's my day.


You must be a martyr to carpet burns.


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## Daniel Dennis (Mar 3, 2014)

I spend my week's doing IT security consulting. Network penetration testing and social engineering mostly. I'm married with two kids. Finding time to write is difficult. I do most of mine in the mornings, during lunch breaks, sometimes during the evenings, and whenever I am traveling for work I get a lot done in hotel rooms.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

My working life started in high school when I assumed my sister's business after she moved to New York to pursue her professional dancing career. I owned & operated dance studios for 10 years. That was followed by my "domestic period" of another 10 years, which also included endless hours of volunteer work and fulfilling the role of corporate wife. Then came a 27 year career as a residential real estate broker.

I thought I was retiring from the work world. I finally had time to focus on my writing hobby and write the full-length book on my bucket list. That first book lives only in my laptop. It's was too personal for me to even consider publishing yet. I've since written and published 2 books and some short stories, and I have 2 more books underway. I write mornings at my kitchen island (as I am doing right now) while my husband pursues his interests. My most prolific (IMO, best) writing happens in the summer sitting on the dock at our Lake of the Ozark vacation home. I must admit my brain is always on writing or marketing although I struggle to find enough time to write (family demands) and I am the world's worst marketer. I knew how to advertise my dance studios and promote myself in the real estate community but, as an author, am at a loss.


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

Lydniz said:


> You must be a martyr to carpet burns.


Well, you know, I have Pablo for that. He applies cream as needed.


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## brendajcarlton (Sep 29, 2012)

Do you really want to know? This is probably Too Much Information, but here goes.

I've had two dreams in life, and I have achieved them both, but it turns out that they are not all that compatible. I've always wanted a place that I could garden into what when of my neighbors calls a fairy tale garden, and I've wanted to have time to write. My hubby now, late in life (it hasn't always been this way by a long shot) has the finances covered. Almost thirteen years ago we bought a very run down country cottage (A Sears Craftsman house to be specific, for anyone who knows what that is) and remodeled and modernized it, and then we started on the gardens. When we began the place was overrun with weeds and junked cars. We had hoped my husband would be retired by now so we'd both be able to keep the gardens up together after the original building phase, but that hasn't worked out. They are definitely more than I can handle myself with him just helping on weekends so my daughter-in-law and her six kids come once a week to help out. We pay her generously for one day of work, and we pay all the kids too. They are not forced to work, but if someone plays all day and doesn't help, they don't get paid. They like making their own money, so they usually work. They are all turning into expert little gardeners after five years of this program. The youngest one, age six, said to me, "Grammy, when you die, I will take care of all your flowers for you."

Behind the garage, on the far right of the picture, is a large vegetable garden. We also have strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and ten fruit trees out of the picture on the far left. We grow way more food than we can eat or preserve, all though I do a lot of that too, and send much of it home with the kids. It turns out that during harvest times, we seem to be paying them to pick their own food, but that is how we help out this large young family.

So, with all that as background, one day a week is devoted to grandchildren and gardening. The day after that is rest and recovery. Then the next day is cleaning, especially after eight pairs of dirty feet have been running all over the house. That leaves four days a week to write, if there are no other family functions, but there are still other garden chores in the mornings, so it is usually four afternoons a week to write. Writing is a break from housework and gardening, and vice versa. I also like to paint, so painting my own book covers gives me an excuse to do that and call it work. That is my life.

This is the view from my living room window. This is sort of the lull between the daffodils and tulips, and spring bloom on the fruit trees and the summer flowers. As you can see, we need to mow. We had two and one half inches of rain on Friday and we haven't had garden day yet this week. One morning we found a man in a suit that we had never met walking his dog in our yard. He thought it was a park.


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## JV (Nov 12, 2013)

Well, my real life...it's a bit crazy/odd

I'm 30. I'm married. My wife is working on her second degree (a BSN. She already has one in Biology). I'm working on my third novel. 

We don't have any kids. 

My day doesn't usually begin until around noon. I'm up late most nights. I am BiPolar, so every day is unpredictable in terms of where I'm going to be emotionally, which does affect my writing schedule, and most certainly affects my sleep schedule. Between bouts of writing I'm in the gym or reading a book or watching a film to sort of...jump start my brain. I also do a bit of gaming here and there.

So yeah...that's my life. In a nutshell.


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

Then CASD57 shouted, "_What is everyone's real life like_ thread, come out!" And the dead thread came out, its hands and feet bound in graveclothes, its face wrapped in a headcloth. CASD57 told them, "Unwrap it and let it go!"

What's my life like? I power washed the deck Saturday, and yesterday morning I went out to stain the thing for the summer. It was still drying, but the dogs needed to go out. Usually, they go out back, go down the deck, and roam around in the fenced off acre, relieving themselves on the trees. But since it was still drying, I took them for a walk. Well, they're getting older, and it was pretty hot, and the big mastiff/ridgeback got a little overheated. He drank and drank. The wife sent me out for eggs, and she said two minutes after I left, he threw up, all that nice slimy water he just drank. Anyone who has dogs knows that stuff. It doesn't absorb into paper towels, because it's all lubed up. That's my life. I have excellent luck with timing. Get out just in time so the wife has to clean up the mess.


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## ThePete (Oct 10, 2013)

Wake up around 10, head on out in my boat and write while I'm fishing and drinking Wild Turkey. My version of multi-tasking. Take a siesta every day after lunch on the beach...

All right, fine. Between running my own small business and writing I work 80 hour weeks and live in a landlocked foreign country full of foreigners. Have to hide my "wasting time" writing from my wife. When she catches me typing furiously away, I try to play it off and tell her I'm just watching porn... but she knows!


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## Rick Soper (May 2, 2014)

I'm 47, currently single, and have two dogs greatly who entertain me.  I work full time as a Financial Consultant, which most would refer to as "Stock Broker".  I work at home, so I'm always in front of at least two computers and a TV, with my dogs at my feet (or trying to jump in my lap), and a phone in my hand.  I'm not a crazy day trader or anything, I do mostly mutual funds, but I try and talk to my clients as often as I can.  I have a side job where I do Video production, which usually consists of me doing TV commercials for my Gym so I can trade out a gym membership and personal training a few times a week.  Occasionally I'll do a commercial for actual money, but usually only barely enough to offset the cost of my video toys.  When I'm not being a stock broker, a TV producer, or a gym rat, then I'm either writing or doing everything I can to promote my writing.  Hopefully someday I can make the jump to full time writer, but I'm going to have to start selling a whole lot more books.  Until then I'm muti-tasking like everyone else.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

CrissyM said:


> Try to get the house cleaned. Feed the cat and the snake. Then sit down to relax for a but.


First off houses are never cleaned lol. Second I did not think cats liked to eat snakes. (I misread that the first time). Lastly, you only have a but when you sit down. Please tell us all how you manage that.
Seriously what kind of snake.

Now my own life is very boring. No kids around, just one sleeping dog and a husband. Oh and way to many projects.


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## mphicks (Jan 29, 2014)

So, real life. I'll be 35 in a couple weeks, and have been married for four years now. My wife and I have a cat, Callie, and if anyone is a glutton for cat pics you can check out my flickr photostream. You'll also find pictures of Sasha cat, who we provided a foster home to for a brief period but weren't able to give her a forever home. You'll also find photographs from my trips to the zoo, my niece, and vacation photos.

Clearly I like photography, and I did some freelance work for local newspapers for a few years but corporate bankruptcy and restructuring at the corporate level sucked out a lot of the joy. I graduated with my second degree in Journalism & Film Studies just as the newspaper market was seriously tanking. As such, my day job involves sitting at a desk processing graduate admission records for a local university.

Finding time to write involved clearing up some early morning hours prior to my work day, or late night writing sessions after my work day, the loving understanding of my wife, and a lot of multitasking like everyone else here. But, no complaints about it at all. I've got my first book out, am working away on the second, and starting to make those high school dreams I had of being a published author an actual reality.


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## Keith Rowland (May 20, 2014)

I've just finished University and currently looking for a job so taking the time I have available to write as much as I can but I know sometimes it been very difficult to write anything as life gets in the way.


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## Inara Everett (Jan 30, 2012)

I'm a practising lawyer and write on my lunch hour. Sometimes it doesn't happen because I get too busy but I always get back on track as soon as possible. I'm a slow writer, I take my time and think and ponder, but even so, if I keep at it the books get done!

Cheers, Inara

P.S. - Take a look at my new book cover for Interrupting Infamy, by Ebook Launch. I love it!


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## Ceinwen (Feb 25, 2014)

I work as a freelance writer, usually for television but gigs are a little far between these days. My dad died a few weeks ago, so I live with my mum and try to help her out as much as I can. There's plenty of time for writing, though, and I'm trying to get back into my routine.


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## jimkukral (Oct 31, 2011)

I LOVE waking up every day and going to my office where I'm self-employed now for over 12-years. I'm truly blessed to have this life and I'm super grateful. 

I value being with my family and coaching my kid's sport teams and living in the moment. I go fishing when I feel like it because I love it. I work when I need to because I've built that business over 18-years of busting my arse to get where I'm at.

I'm living the dream. And it's not because I'm wealthy in money. Far from it. I'm wealthy in happiness. Money means nothing. Great thread.


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## drymartini (May 6, 2014)

My life:  I have two young kids at home and my husband is in school doing a second degree and also works, so time is scarce. In another life I was a night owl and would stay up really late, but now I'm up at 4:30 am even on weekends to get time in before the house wakes up. Problem is I can't seem to train myself to go to bed early and will be up late reading, so I'm kind of perpetually exhausted. Exhausted but happy to be doing something I've dreamed about all my life, that's the payoff that makes it worth it.

Love reading about your 'real lives', especially V.M. Black's!


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## Heather Hamilton-Senter (May 25, 2013)

Living in the country about an hour east of Toronto Canada. Desperately needing to lose some pounds. Married with three children ranging in age from 6 to 18. 

Husband is a computer programming wizard and IT consultant so he works downstairs in his office and I write upstairs in mine. My inlaws live in our basement apartment (all above ground even though technically it's the basement) and my Mom lives on our property in a guest house.

The oldest girl is the model on an Amazon #1 YA steampunk bestseller written by a friend of mine, the middle girl is destined to be a fabulously wealthy businesswoman and we expect her older music major sister will lend up living in her basement, and the youngest boy loves dinosaurs 

I am a member of Canadian Actors Equity and while I am no longer performing, I direct community theatre and sing at various functions. For the past few years I've been a wedding photographer, but have eased out of that as well.

Mostly, I've been a stay at home mommy and am proud of it and have loved every minute. But ever since I was a little girl, I knew that writing was something I wanted to pursue. The last year has jerked me around between an agent who wanted to sign me, one of the biggest agents in YA luring me away from them and then telling me to go away , and the wonderful discovery of Indie publishing and creating Indie book covers!


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

Normal.

Sent from The International Space Station using Tapatalk


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