Over the next while, I will be discussing how working writers can be successful. I believe that working writers can be successful by writing every day. When writers work full-time, its hard for them to become aware of everything they must do outside of work. You usually come home tired and sometimes even frustrated as well as anxious. If you feel this way, the first thing you should do is decompress. The easiest way to do this would be to eat dinner and watch television. Hours go by. Suddenly you remember that you should have been writing and you get upset at yourselves. Guilt sets in along with all the negative self-talk. You feel awful as you prepare to go to bed because it represents yet one more lost day of writing. Days may pass and still you may not have done any writing. This will further frustrate you and the negative feelings associated with this situation will impact your self-esteem. You may start wondering whether you should give up and not write any more. Why try to write when you never get around to it. You feel weak-willed because you can’t seem to control your free time life after work so that you can get even a bit of writing done every evening. This negative mindset can linger and further increase your levels of anxiety to the point where you are less and less likely to write. Its easier to forget about writing altogether. You know you should be writing but how can you do so, given all your life pressures and obligations? The good news is that there is a way out of this dilemma. The best way I know is to get into the habit of writing every day, even if it is for fifteen to thirty minutes at a time. This way, you can be sure to do even some writing consistently. This will build your self-confidence and give you the incentive to continue writing every day as time goes on. Even if you decide to write for only fifteen to thirty minutes a day before or after dinner, try to write consistently. Writing will then become a habit. This is your ticket to becoming a successful writer. In other words, the more often you sit down to write, the more you will want to write. Secondly, by writing every day, you will develop the habit of writing. After four to six weeks, you will want to write after dinner every day for thirty minutes. Or if you write better in the morning, you will be motivated to get up earlier and write. You will start making time to write and scheduling it in your planner of life. In the process, you will be building self-confidence and getting a lot of writing done. Thirdly, you will get your family used to the idea that you will be writing. This will help you feel more confident that you will be given the space by your family to write every day without an argument or having to fight for even a few minutes of writing time. Non-writers don’t understand the writing life and how long it takes to complete a manuscript. Further, family members may be intimidated by people in the family who write. Therefore, consistently writing will get them used to the idea. Therefore, make sure that you schedule time to write every day. Experiment to determine your best times to write. If you’re too busy and tired in the evening, maybe waking up earlier in the day will work best for you. Or, you can try writing on your lunch hour. See what works, and then create a writing schedule from there. But be patient, yet consistent. It could take a few weeks to create a workable writing schedule. If one time of day doesn’t work, keep experimenting with different times. This will lead to success and you will ultimately become a writer who writes consistently and completes manuscripts. Okay, now let’s all get back to writing! Irene S. Roth