Sacrifices in Writing

I stopped by the KillZone the other day and read a post by James Scott Bell on self-publishing. And one of the things he discussed was how writers needed to treat writing like a sacrifice.

“Be prepared to give some things up (TV is a jealous mistress, too) in order to find time to write.”

And that prompted me to compile a list of the things I’ve given up the past couple of years to pursue my dream of being a published writer.

Television. I used to watch a lot of TV. Now I watch one DVR’ed show a night, together with my wife.

Video games. I was addicted to them several years ago, but that was before being bitten by the writing bug. The only time I play these days is online with my brother on Saturday nights – although I have been known to sneak in a few minutes of Minecraft whenever I’m stuck in the middle of writing a scene. I used to tell my kids which video games were best. Now they tell me.

Sleep. I’m sure all writers sacrifice sleep for their art. Sometimes my only chance to write comes when everyone else is in bed. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered my muse is usually asleep then too.

The Internet. Visiting websites having nothing to do with writing doesn't happen much anymore.

Gardening. I used to plan each year’s flower garden beginning in February and keep tweaking the design until it was time to plant in May. Now I plant as little as possible as quickly as possible and hope everything turns out okay as the summer progresses.

Free time. By definition, free time means writing time, so it's no longer free.


So what about you?  What have you given up for writing?