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During the early years of parenthood, I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself.\n\n\n\nWhy can't I have my own dedicated writing space? Why can't I have blocks of uninterrupted time?\n\n\n\nThe overwhelming demands of being a stay-at-home mom almost shut down my creativity. In time, thank heavens, I stopped griping and started looking for solutions.\n\n\n\nMy idea? Instead of waiting for the perfect conditions, I snatched time.\n\n\n\nNo Time to Write? Snatch Every Opportunity\n\n\n\nI wrote when the kids were napping.\n\n\n\nI wrote late at night.\n\n\n\nI wrote when they were engrossed in a movie.\n\n\n\nI squeezed writing into the tiny openings in my days.\n\n\n\nSometimes I only had five minutes, but I wrote.\n\n\n\nBy making the most of a few free moments here and there, I kept my writing identity alive.\n\n\n\nContain the Creativity\n\n\n\nThis spontaneous approach made for a messy writing life, however.\n\n\n\nI left a trail of pens throughout the house. I scratched fleeting phrases onto the backs of envelopes. I scribbled a line of poetry onto a Wendy's receipt and shoved it into our minivan's cup holders.\n\n\n\nIf I could go back, I would organize my writing ideas in one central container. I needed a master notebook for all those scraps, or a notes app on my phone to tap out those ideas.\n\n\n\nThat would have been smart. I have no idea where that Wendy's receipt ended up, so that lyrical line is lost forever.\n\n\n\nPlease learn from my mistake and find an official container for your work.\n\n\n\nCreative Container Ideas\n\n\n\nHow you corral and contain your ideas is totally up to you\u2014there\u2019s no single approach for every writer. I recommend you decide on something you can carry with you all the time.\n\n\n\nFor example, a simple manila envelope you stuff into an oversized bag that goes with you everywhere could contain all your scraps of paper if you scribble on whatever\u2019s nearby. An accordion file or a 3-ring binder with folders and dividers snapped into it are more organized versions of that.\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re more suited to digital options, you can use any number of apps for iOs or Android. For example, in this interview, Bryan Collins of Become a Writer Today talks about how he uses Day One, a journaling app, for all of his writing notes, as well.\xa0\n\n\n\nSeize Tiny Moments\n\n\n\nDespite the mess, I realized a way forward in the midst of motherhood with no time to write: I seized tiny moments.\n\n\n\nI learned that a single sentence or well-crafted phrase composed in five minutes could lay the foundation for a future manuscript.\n\n\n\nAs a result, I made solid progress on project after project. I built a respectable portfolio that led to a respectable freelance writing career.\n\n\n\nTime and opportunities opened up as my kids grew more independent. I wrote books, joined writing communities, worked as an editor, and, as you know, established a coaching business.\n\n\n\nAll of that was possible because I made the most of five minutes here and five minutes there.\n\n\n\nThat approach helped my \u201cwriting self\u201d survive those early childrearing years and, in 2014, four years of extreme eldercare chaos. Thankfully, expectations have eased up, and my current life stage permits me blocks of time to write, but you know what? I still try to seize every opportunity.\n\n\n\nTo this day, I write during those tiny moments that free up\u2014it keeps me on track toward achieving my writing goals.\n\n\n\nIf you don't already, I hope you try it yourself next time you feel you have no time to write: \n\n\n\nWrite whenever and wherever you can...for as long as you can.\n\n\n\nEnough Stolen Sentences and a Book Is Born\n\n\n\n\u200bIn her book The Right to Write, Julia Cameron says:\n\n\nThe \u2018if-I-had-time\u2019 lie is a convenient way to ignore the fact that novels require being written and that writing happens a sentence at a time. Sentences can happen in a moment. Enough stolen moments, enough stolen sentences, and a novel is born\u2013without the luxury of time\u2026Yes, it is daunting to think of finding time to write an entire novel,