SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER?

Many people have entertained the idea of being a writer. They feel the passion to write. They have a best-seller idea. They want to share their specialist knowledge with the rest of the world. Yet years go by and nothing happens. Why? The reason is almost always the same: they can't find the time to write.

Whether you want to write fictions, magazine articles, plays, screen plays, non-fiction books, children's stories, film scripts, radio scripts or commercial writings, one thing is for certain: if you want to be successful writer, you must write.

There are only 24 hours in a day and most of us lead hectic lifestyles which leave little time for luxury like sitting down to write. Family and job usually come first, and by the time the dishes have been washed and the children put to bed, chances are you're exhausted yourself and the writing will just have to be postponed until another time.

But if writing is important to you, then you must be disciplined and decide how you want to divide your time. You'll have to analyse your lifestyle and cross a few things off your list to free up time for your personal goals.

And it's not as difficult as you may think.

HOW TO MAKE TIME

If in doubt, cut it out

Record your daily activities in details for a week. Look at the list and eliminate those activities which do not contribute positively to your life. One such obvious activity is watching television. If you must watch it, at least try cutting the time spent on it. Watch it for one hour instead of two, and you