How can you make time for book writing?

Here are two words that might make you swoon with longing or simmer with envy: book leave.

In an ideal book leave, a person would get paid well enough (from a big old book advance?) to take unpaid leave from their day job and spend their time writing that brilliant book. In my mind, at least, they’re tucked into a cabin in the woods or on a coast and it’s cozy and they snack and nap their way through the whole thing. Chunky knits are likely present.

For most journalists, though, book leave might not be an option, either financially or realistically, thanks to a news cycle that’s more like a nonstop slog.

But lots of journalists do write books. So how do they do it?

“The key is the verb in your question,” said Craig Pittman, a journalist and the author of several books, including “Welcome to Florida: True Tales from America’s Most Interesting State.” “Most people say, ‘How do you FIND time to write?’ You did it the correct way: ‘How do you MAKE time to write?’ The legendary Florida writer Harry Crews put it best: If you want to be a writer, put your ass in the chair.”

Pittman takes breaks to eat and walk, but otherwise, he said, “I’m all about the work.”

Routine was also key for Stephanie Hayes, a columnist at the Tampa Bay Times and the author of a novel and “Be Serious,” a collection of essays.

“Since I write columns for a living, I always struggled to find consistency in my more creative pursuits. Where was the line? Who has time to write and then write some more?” she said. “In 2023, I attended the Yale Writers’ Workshop to develop the fledgling pages of a novel. In my classes, I learned about the concept of writing accountability groups.”

After returning home, Hayes joined the Morning Writing Club, run by author and publisher Chelsea Hodson.

“By carving out a dedicated space each morning, I was able to finish a draft of the novel, then a second draft of the same novel,” Hayes said. “I could then go about my journalism for the rest of the day without the albatross of creative failure hanging over me. There are many ways to go about building a consistent practice, but making the effort changed everything for me.”

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans had to pace himself differently. Deggans, the author of “Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation,” had three months to write a 230-page manuscript.

“So I wound up writing every moment I could when I wasn’t at work as the Tampa Bay Times’ TV critic,” he said. “Two hours before work and two hours after on weekdays. Six to seven hours each day on weekends. I took two weeks for Christmas break in December and wrote every day, then took two weeks for spring break and wrote every day (I couldn’t afford to take an unpaid book leave).”

‘There’s nothing more intimidating than a blank page, so I’m a big believer in what writer Anne Lamott calls ‘s****y first drafts,’” Colón said. “Just write something. Don’t worry about making it pretty. That’ll come later. Ironically, it’s often in the busyness of life — driving carpool, walking the dog, washing dishes — that the brilliant idea or perfect turn of phrase presents itself.”

We’ll be talking about this and a lot more at Poynter in June as part of our newest workshop, Breaking Into Books: A Nonfiction Writing Workshop for Journalists. This two-and-a-half day workshop, led by Columbia University Journalism School’s Sam Freedman, builds off Freedman’s work helping journalists tell the stories gathering in their notebooks and throughout their careers. You can learn more about the program here.

Correction (April 14, 2025): An earlier version of this story noted that Deggans stepped away from his book to cover breaking news. That’s incorrect. He got an extension to include that news in his book.