As of January 10, it had been nearly two months since I wrote any fiction. Part of the problem was that a change in my job and my new baby upended a regular writing schedule that had worked well for me since the turn of the century. Since the late 1990s, I had a train commute that lasted anywhere between half and hour and an hour and a half depending on where I was working at the time. Ever since I could afford to buy a laptop computer, this 'train time' had also been writing time.
But circumstances changed and in recent times I found myself driving to work out of necessity, both because I was testing cars for review purposes, and because I will soon need to drop my daughter off at my mother's place in the morning. Taking the train just isn't practical now.
So where does this leave me?
I've long believed writing is like exercise. You either make time for it, or you don't. Anything else just just a weak excuse. The trick is to ensure it is part of your routine, not an 'event'. You brush your teeth (I hope) in the morning or at night, or both, and don't give it any thought. It's not a special activity, it's not something you consciously go out of your way to do. You do it because it keeps your teeth healthy, but mainly you do it because it's what you do. It's a habit you developed in childhood and as an adult you never give it any consideration.
Writing is the same. Its slot in my general daily routine has been taken away, so now I need to find a new slot for it. Where will that be? Perhaps I could get up a little earlier and bash out 1000 words before work. Or I could get to work earlier and write my fiction there. Alternatively, I could start going to the gym in the morning and use my lunch hour to write. There is always a solution.
Now don't get me wrong, I understanding now tempting (and how easy) it is to make excuses. I don't have time. I'm too tired to write in the morning/afternoon/evening. There are too many distractions.
Sure, these excuses might be valid. But they're beside the point. If you find yourself making such excuses, you have to question how dedicated you are to being a writer. As John D. Macdonald once opined, 'If you want to write, you write.' And if you really want to write, you'll find a way.
I have a short horror piece and a romance novel bubbling away in my head. They need to be written, and they will be written. I will find a way.