Answer - of course it is! Writing will take up as much of your time as you give it; it is a hungry beast that will consume each and every waking hour if you let it. But it can also be a fickle creature, turning its back on your precious time and hiding away, leaving you staring at the blank page, the flashing cursor, hands stilled.
It has been a funny old year; many of us working reduced hours, others finding our hours extended, still more completely out of work. For some, it has been a writer's dream - 'furloughed' from work meaning they have hours on end to dedicate to writing. But ideas and inspiration don't arrive to a schedule do they?
A primary teacher, I often find this during the breaks from term; whilst I do have school work to complete during holidays, there is often more time for me to dedicate to writing. A luxury in comparison to the 11-12 hour days I work during term time. During the summer, I was able to find the time to sit down to do some writing, but (especially during August) found myself lacking in inspiration and motivation, so my determination to develop a better habit and routine for writing has not yet been realised.
School is back in now (pandemic notwithstanding) and settling back in to those long days, days which have been extended by arrangements needing to be made for the pandemic, has taken its toll on my writing time. Don't get me wrong; I love my job, but it is very draining on many levels.
So this is the first weekend I have had the time or motivation to sit back down at the lap top and turn my attention to some writing (or reading for my course) and as I sit down, headphones on, hands on the keyboard, I feel a sense of calm I haven't felt since about June.
I am looking forward to losing myself for a few hours in one of my Weired worlds - a familiar one, or a new one perhaps. I can feel little ideas poking at the edges of my mind and I am almost frustrated that it is now - a Sunday in term time when I have other demands on my time - that the creature decides to come back around.
This makes me feel that not only is writing a full time job, but that - for me - it keeps to the same schedule as my paying job keeps me to.
So, for now, I will continue to balance the desire to write with my other career, looking forward to the time when writing can be my full time job.
And hope that my writing doesn't retire when I do.