I seem to be one of the lucky ones.  I work as a yeoman (for those of
you not familiar with Navy terminology, read: clerical) for a fleet
staff command.  My primary duty is classified document security. 
Since my job gets fairly slow at times, and I'm not working on my
college courses, other military matters, or driving my girlfriend
nuts, I have enough time to write my stories; most of it is done
during breaks, lunch, or on my duty days.  During underway periods
(since you can't go anywhere after hours), I'll stay at my computer
and plug away until the wee hours.  It's a trade off, I suppose, but a
labor of love nonetheless.
So to answer your question, yes, it can be slow for some, fast for
others, but always worth the effort.
Besides, this is all about fun, ne?

Rob Barba, YN2, USN
US Seventh Fleet Command, Yokosuka Japan
embarked USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19)
(aka Ashita, He Who Stays Crunchy in Milk)

I am starting to get really depressed here.  Back at Katsucon, two 
months ago, I had mentioned at the panel that I was going to write

a 

TENCHI MUYO! story entitled "Mother's Day", which I hoped to have 
done by Mother's Day.

Well, two months have gone by, Mother's Day has come and gone, and

I 

have written *squat*.  No, scratch that.  I wrote the prologue

four 

weeks ago, but it's garbage and I can't release it.  Near the end,

I 

was getting tired, but I was afraid to quit writing for fear I 
wouldn't be able to start again any time soon, so I rushed it.

I am having a great deal of trouble finding time to write while 
working full-time.  Work takes the best hours of the day from me.  
I'd love to write after coming home, but I just don't know how. 

I'm 

too drained.  In a sense, the problem is that my job is too 
interesting.  As a software engineer, I write code and hunt down

bugs 

all day long.  By the end of the day, I'm all thunk out.  When I

sold 

shoes, I had problems with being tired, but I still managed to

push 

out a chapter of something every month.  The job was maddeningly 
boring, so I had plenty of time to work through story ideas in my 
head.

I'd be curious to know how other people manage to work full-time

and 

still remain an active fanfic writer.  Or perhaps fanfic writing

is 

better left to the college kids.  :-(

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