Cha-cha-cha-changes. The one constant in life. In this decade-birthday year, I feel this acutely. A voice whispers in my ear, “You are the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be.” If there’s stuff I still want to do, I better get to it.

The urgency has already resulted in two trips, one of them to check off bucket-list items: the Teddy Roosevelt National Park and The Enchanted Highway. But I also realize my years as a writer could be numbered. In September, I’ll be on a MWA panel at the MLK Library in San Jose with Laurie King, Leslie Karst, and Heather Haven. We’ll be discussing how we work, how we got started, and what a person needs to do “to make it.”

Like I know that?

However, on more reflection, I do know something about it. My first response—to laugh—is due to constantly moving my goal posts. At one time, I would have thought I’d made it to write a book. Well, I’ve done that a dozen time over if you count the two manuscripts in my file cabinet. Get an agent? I’ve had one. Have a book published. Done. Nine to date.

But even now with seventy traditionally published short stories and a two-book contract with Level Best Books, it’s hard for me to acknowledge the messages that tell me I have reached a certain level of success—the very invitation to be on the aforementioned panel, for example.
Other authors ask me for blurbs.

I was recruited by the NorCal MWA chapter to do a Facebook Live presentation on short story. I moderated a panel on short story at Left Coast Crime. The Coastal Cruisers chapter of Sisters in Crime asked me to do a Zoom presentation on short story.

My local bookstore reached out to see if I’d like to be “in conversation” with a NY Times Bestselling YA thriller writer. Are you kidding me?

The Capitol Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime asked if I would be a judge for their anthology.

A well-known editor invited me to submit to an anthology he’s put together.

Barb Goffman chose one of my stories to be a reprint in Black Cat Weekly.

Some of these things have required a lot of work on my part but I’ve learned to say yes to opportunities, to step up to difficult jobs like moderating a panel or judging an anthology. They are my way to give back to a community that has supported me, but they are also benchmarks of “making it.”

And it has been my experience that seizing these opportunities and putting in the work generates more opportunities.
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I’ve always wanted to have a contract with a significant publishing company rather than indie publishing my long works via the small, collaborative press to which I belong. Now I’ve achieved that. Of course, reaching one metric does not prevent me from wishing I made more money from writing, would win a prestigious award, or break through to a best sellers list. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to level up, but it’s important to acknowledge our accomplishments and to understand we are not in competition with other authors, but only with our own expectations.

Vinnie Hansen fled the howling winds of the South Dakota prairie and headed for the California coast the day after high school graduation. 

She graduated from the University of California, Irvine (BA) and San Francisco State University (MA) writing programs. She’s gone on to pen numerous short stories; Lostart Street, a novel of mystery, murder and moonbeams; and the Carol Sabala mystery series. The seventh installment in the series, Black Beans & Venom, made the finalist list for the Claymore Award as did the opening of One Gun. 

Still sane after 27 years of teaching high school English, Vinnie has retired and lives in Santa Cruz, California, with her husband and the requisite cat. 

The single most common question I get asked as a young(ish!) stay-at-home mom of five kids (by day!) and author (by night!) is “how do you find time to write?”
For me, this is like someone asking, “how do you find time to eat?” or “how do you find time to sleep?”

Writing is such a crucial facet of my identity and it brings me so much joy that to not do it feels like it would be a great loss to who I am as a person. I often tell people I feel most like myself when I’m writing.

But I’ve realized this isn’t exactly what folks really want to know when they ask me this question. They want practical, logistical answers explaining how I find the time to write. Or more accurately, I should say, how I make the time to write, given the other demands on my time. So, I’ve started compiling a list of tips for fellow creatives. I thought I’d share it here.

These are things that work for me as a writer who, from the outside looking in, doesn’t have a ton of spare time to devote to my craft. Maybe these ideas will help you make some time to do the thing that fills your cup, brings you joy, and allows you to feel most like yourself.
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• Set a timer for however long you have and write until it buzzes at you. This is the best way I’ve found to finish writing books. I set my trusty timer for thirty minutes (sometimes forty-five minutes if I’m feeling feisty and particularly motivated) and let my fingers fly across the keyboard. I don’t stop to edit. I don’t check my cell phone. I write. It’s not always pretty, but words get out on the page, and for me, it’s a guaranteed way to make some progress on a story.

 

• Try to end your writing session in the middle of a scene or at least in a place where you know what’s coming next. It’ll make starting up again so much easier the next time you have time to write, and if you use the timer method, you’ll maximize your minutes.

 

• When working on a first draft, don’t delete anything…even stuff you know you want to change. Make yourself a note in the margins or in a notebook to come back and edit it later, but don’t delete words typed. You’ve earned those! And the first step to finishing a manuscript is getting it out, no matter how pretty (or not so pretty) it is.

 

• Don’t compare your progress to someone else’s. We all draft differently. We all create differently. Your timeline, your pace, is yours. Own it. If listening to someone else’s process or progress is causing you stress, step back and reassess. (Yes, that includes this article. If what I’m sharing isn’t serving you, go forth and do your own thing. No hard feelings!)

 

• When I’m not writing, I like staying in the mindset of my story by listening to my book playlist or scrolling my Pinterest mood board. It keeps the excitement high for when I do have time to get back to the story.

That’s about it. Nothing fancy. Nothing ground-breaking. But this method works for me. As someone who is not a full-time author but instead writes within the margins of her day, these are my tips for other busy creatives.

I’d love to hear from you. How do you find time to write? Do we use any of the same strategies? Share your best creative tips in the comments below. Write on!


Leah Dobrinska is the author of the Larkspur Library Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in the Wisconsin Northwoods; the Mapleton novels, a series of award-winning standalone small town romances; and the Fall In Love closed-door romcoms. She earned her degree in English Literature from UW-Madison where she was awarded the Dean’s Prize and served as a Writing Fellow. She has since worked as a freelance writer, editor, and content marketer. As a kid, she hoped to grow up to be either Nancy Drew or Elizabeth Bennet. Now, she fulfills that dream by writing mysteries and love stories.

A sucker for a good sentence, a happy ending, and the smell of books—both old and new—Leah lives out her very own happily ever after in a small Wisconsin town with her husband and their gaggle of kids. When she's not writing, handing out snacks, or visiting the local library, Leah enjoys reading and running. Find out more about Leah, join her newsletter community, and connect with her through her website, leahdobrinska.com.

We've all read hundreds of times of the importance of exercise, especially as we grow older. Who isn't familiar with the expression "sitting is the new smoking?" I won't go into the nitty gritty details of why sitting is so bad for us, except to mention it has been implicated in many conditions, from heart disease to nerve damage. And while our society is more sedentary these days, I think those of us who are writers have to pay special attention to the matter.
 
I don't love to exercise and won't initiate an exercise session on my own, which is why I take aerobic and yoga classes, either in person or via Zoom, three to five times a week. And I go for a walk occasionally. Luckily, there are many forms of exercise available to us, so we can choose those we really like. There's swimming, Pilates, dancing, skating, bike riding, various sports and working out in a gym to mention a few.
 
But the benefits of working out and staying in shape are significantly lost if we sit in front of a computer for hours at a time. It's essential that we get up and move every twenty minutes or so.

Just get movin'.

Go downstairs.

Get a drink of water in the kitchen. (And bypass the chocolate)

Walk around your office for a few minutes.

Do a few stretching exercises.
 
Having a pet helps keep us moving. I remember how my cat Sammy used to make his special sound, telling me he wanted a few treats or some attention. But now that Sammy's gone, I need to remember to get up and move on my own.
 
For those of us who get so involved in the creative process and forget to come up for air, you can set your alarm to remind you to get up and stretch. Or move. Sometimes moving around helps inspire new story ideas. Some of my plot problems are solved as I walk around my community.
 
When I sit too long, rising to my feet can be painful. There's no question that I feel better after exercising and moving about. If only I didn't have to do it so often! But that's the way the cookie crumbles, as they used to say. Moving and exercising are as essential to our well-being as eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep.


A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Out of Circulation, the eighth book in the series, will be published in August, 2024. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series. 
Her juvenile novel, And Don't Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Rufus and Magic Run Amok was an International Reading Association-Children's Book Council Children's Choice and has recently come out in a new edition as the first in a series of four books. Rufus and the Witch's Drudge, the second in the series, will be published in 2024. 
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Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids and playing with her kittens, Romeo and Juliet.