Do you find it difficult to find the time to pursue your creative ambitions amidst everyday obligations?
We hear stories about people who spontaneously quit their jobs to chase their dreams, but what about those of us who want a way to balance both work and creative outlets?
This week I talked with Maria Lewis, who wrote her debut horror/fantasy novel, Who’s Afraid?, while working full-time as a journalist. She was more than happy to tell me how she managed it.
While the initial draft only took six months to complete, it was six years before Who’s Afraid? was released.
“It was the rewrites, the hustling for an agent, the publisher shopping and the eventual in-house edits that took the longest”, said Lewis.
“It’s interesting I guess because the physical act of writing your first novel is time consuming, but compared to getting it out there it’s the blink of an eye.”
Lewis describes the experience as “cathartic”, as she balanced fiction writing with entertainment reporting for The Gold Coast Bulletin, followed by The Daily Telegraph. “At times it felt like working three jobs, yet somehow I always managed to make time for the book: whether that was staying up late and writing frantically till 3am or dedicating full weekends, I had this story and this character I needed to get out of my head…”
When asked whether she ever needed to be inspired in order to write, Lewis revealed a crucial key to success was knowing when to focus on Who’s Afraid?, and when to relax and reinvigorate. “Time was so precious that whenever I found a few hours to write Who’s Afraid? I had to seize that opportunity because I knew it mightn’t come around again for a while.
Generally speaking, if I don’t feel inspired I don’t write because trying to push through that barrier rarely works out and is usually counterproductive. Instead I’ll do something that I love – like watching a movie or reading a novel or comic book – which in turn ends up making me more inspired and more productive to create my own piece of pop culture and I return to the project invigorated.”
Lewis’s process may conflict with what you have heard other artists advise, and in doing so serves to remind that finding a way to best optimise creative time comes down to the individual.
It all comes down to what Lewis had to say when I asked her if she had any advice to share with fellow creatives: “Know what you’re trying to do and know what you’re willing to give up to do.”
Ultimately, knowing where to make sacrifices in order to achieve your goals is paramount to making the most out of your creative time. If Lewis hadn’t sacrificed for Who’s Afraid? she wouldn’t be travelling to London in July this year for a two-month book tour, nor would she have a multi-book deal with distributor Little Brown Books.
Meanwhile, she continues to further her career as a Digital Producer on SBS 2’s The Feed.
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Purchase your copy of Maria’s novels,
including Who’s Afraid?, here.