Are you writing this weekend? 10 minutes will do.

Of course you're writing this weekend. Aren't you?

Writing takes work and work doesn't stop on Memorial Day weekend. Or any weekend, in fact.

The temptation is there--picnics, air-conditioned movie theaters, shops full of sales. A trip to the beach. Time with family.

Or maybe you are stuck working a job that will keep you on your feet and leave you exhausted. Or facing a pile of housework, family duties, or even homework grading (I teach college year round: the essays never stop.)

But stories and books do not write themselves. Creative work takes a lot of sweat.

The books that don't get written, the stories that don't get told, are the victims of competing priorities. Even for the busiest among us, there are countless ways to carve time out of a day. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there.

Ten minutes!  Who can write a book in ten minute snatches? 

You can. In the bathroom stall at work, if need be. (I've done it. Why not?) 

You can find ten minutes and bang out 500 words (if you type 50 words per minute) or 250 words (25 words a minute) or 150 words (15 words per minute, which is the best I can do on my cell phone.) 

You are the boss of your time, and you can make it bend to your will no matter what the weekend throws at you. Happy writing!

(I'm a big fan of Rachel Aaron's book about writing fast, 2k to 10k. (Kindle, 99 cents).  Well worth one dollar this weekend. The best I've ever done consistently is 5k per day writing about a girl who gets a spaceship and has many cool adventures, because that was me at twelve years old: Annie Wu Saves the Future (Smashwords, 99 cents, all formats including .pdf))