Most authors don't choose a career in writing because of the money. For most of us, writing is just not going to be something we can rely on the pay the rent every month. So, the majority of us have to do the job thing, especially if we have more than ourselves to think about (the starving artist gig doesn't go very far when you have kids). Unfortunately, the standard, every day, paycheck a week (or two) job cuts into writing not just in time, but also in energy and motivation, and it can be a real challenge to finish even the shortest of stories, much less a novel. At the end of the day, there's not much left over for writing, even if there's time.

One solution I've found is to write in the cracks. Every job has cracks--those spaces of time between tasks, or breaks in the day when you can sit back and not concentrate on work, or moments when there's nothing demanding your attention. These moments are the perfect opportunities to make space for your writing. Oh, they don't do well for the actual writing portion of the process, but they do provide time for some of the other tasks of a writer: world building (such as a character profile), outlining, revising, market hunting, even critiquing if you're a part of a workshop.

I always take writing to work with me: a chapter or two of the current novel in revision, a short in need of attention (as long as it doesn't need a major overhaul), the manuscript I'm reading for a friend, a piece or two to critique, and my writers notebook (which goes with me everywhere anyway). Taking such a selection allows me to pick and choose not only what I'm in the mood for, but what I have the time for. On good days, the kids work and I revise or crit, and I get quite a bit done. On bad days, the only time I can do anything is during my planning time. I will admit it was much tougher finding the time to do anything during my long term positions since there's almost always something that needs to be done (planning, grading, meetings), but I usually found some small way to keep in touch with the writer in me, it just took longer to get anything done (which was certainly better than not doing at all).

Days off will always allow the time to work on those things that require more concentration or a higher word count. But don't limit yourself to a days off kind of writer. Those bits of time at work may not allow for much, but they do allow for something, however small. They are tiny moments of forward progress. Writing at work can be the highlight of your day and even help make a job more tolerable. And, at the end of a hectic day, a day when you come home and all you want to do is fall asleep in front of the TV, writing between the cracks also lets you say, "I wrote today." For some of us, that's a big accomplishment all in itself.