There’s an essential question behind my prolonged absence from own blog: How does one balance the impulse / desire / need to write against work, play and sleep?

Well, first, how do I myself balance these things? Not too well, clearly.

This weekend I was scrubbing and re-building the first chapter of my current novel project. I felt guilty for much of Saturday, agitated by the realization that I could instead be meeting up with people I haven’t seen in a while, or catching up on work, or running a few extra miles, or calling my mom (priorities, people!) or whatever else.

But on the flipside of that coin, these preoccupations already distract me from my project for about 90 percent of any given week.

Many accomplished writers counsel up-starts to block off time for writing each day. That’s easier done if you work a 9-to-5 than if you work a whenever-to-whenever, which happens to be my case–and it’s likely the case for many of us.

But common to both writing and work life is an essential skill: time management. Would if I could get my hands on Hermione’s time turner, but alas–there’s ultimately no neat device, no perfect algorithm that will tell me how much time I should allot or am allowed to spend writing a book. But if you believe in what you’re writing, and if you’re fully confident in your project, then your commitment will fulfill itself, and you’ll figure it out.

(I think.)