6. Find a place to write.
Writing takes time, concentration, and energy. Those are hard to find when you have a job and a family. People understand when you need to go to work. They don’t understand when you need to write. Writing seems like a hobby because you don’t get paid very often, if at all. People don’t treat it as a job unless you treat it as a job.
There is always something that needs to be done. There are chores and jobs and the demands of family. These are all legitimate and part of life. We choose what to prioritize every day. We can’t devote ourselves wholeheartedly to job or family, or writing. Everything is competing for time and attention and energy. If writing is a low priority, it won’t get done.
I physically leave my house to write. Other writers leave temporally. They find a quiet time when the kids are asleep to do their thing. You can get up early or stay up late. I have my desk.
The important thing is to get and maintain the separation necessary for creativity. Perhaps you can’t do it for more than an hour at a time, but you can get a lot done in an hour. An hour a day will get you a novel in a few months.
The main thing is to make the time to write and stick to it. Something else won’t get done. If you want to write badly enough, that’s a sacrifice you can make.