Time, friends... writing?

[bookworm]

This isn't strickly a question about writing, to be honest, but I didn't quite know where to post it.

Probably every single person who's reading this is having exactly the same problem... it's about having time for writing, and, to be more precise, friends.
My friends, although I do like them, completely don't understand me when it comes to writing. They want to meet up with me all day every day. I hate wasting my time and I often want to spend an afternoon writing, but they completely don't get the idea. I feel I'm running out of time, though it probably isn't true, yet I really don't want to hurt their feelings. What would you suggest me to do?

[Syn]

TIme management is a very important thing if one wants to be successful. More on that can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhaOFCj-tvQ - it's old, but still valid)
While he does go a bit too hardcore with it, most of the points do stand.
I guess it's all about prioritising. However, your friends should have more understanding. If it's something you love to do, they SHOULD support you more.
This way instead of you hurting their feelings, they're hurting yours, one way or the other.

[Dabs]

I totally get where you're coming from, but think of it this way:

In order to write well, you need life experience. You need to understand people. You need to know conflict and resolve, and you need to view that through a realistic lens. The best way to do that is to hang out with people. You can always write later, but friends, friends get tired and have things to do, and they won't always be there. Manage your time, but try to dedicate a solid amount to being with people.

[SapphireSeaBird]

They want to meet up with me all day every day.

Lucky you, if I want to do something with my friends I have to organise it, otherwise they would all go about their ultra busy lives and probably never suggest meeting up. :P

Anyway, you just have to find a balance. Dabs pretty much summed the rest of it up, going out with your friends, in the long term, may help to impove your witing. Try and draw a line, maybe you could choose one or two days a week when you want to stay at home and write, and make it clear to them that you won't be available on those days. Otherwise, just divide your time. It's highly unlikely you're going to spend an entire day writing, you could spend half the day with friends and the other half writing, or whatever.
Either way, if I were you I'd put hanging out with friends first. That's rich coming from a social reject like myself, but there will come times when you do need real people, not fictional characters, to rely on... xD

[Rose]

You know, the best way is to be honest with them. Just explain to them that you have other things to do. I'm sure they'd understand. I'm sure they'll be cool with you meeting up with them 3 times a week instead of everyday, for example. And if they don't wanna do that, then they're just selfish and they only care about themselves. In that case, I strongly suggest that you pack your bags and fly over to Lebanon.

with love,
Moi. <3

[lalodragon]

Like Dabs said, your friends help you write. You've got to write what you know, so you've got to know friendship (involved in most stories) and people. The more people you know, and the better you know them, the better your characters will be.
Granted friends can be awful for writing at times. There was a time when I wanted to be with my friends 24/7. I actually wrote in my diary like this: "+ I'm like what? I hav 2 go" because my friends text like that. I also rarely wrote outside of my diary and what I did write was awful and cliched. So they rather killed my writing for a year or two.
...what to advise you? Enlist your parents. Tell them that you're going to write and if your friends call or come don't let them in.
Or talk to your friends seriously, tell them your writing is #1 and all that. Be a stubborn * to them if you need to: someone's feeling are going to hurt and you're too lovely to hurt. If you're an organized person who writes at will, set times (and teach me something). If not tell them you'll spend half a day with them and half a day alone, you'll tell them which as you like. This is waived for riotous party days.
Or, if you like, send them to me and I'll whip them into shape. But then you might not have friends anymore. :P
You're going to have a hard time in November. :mellow: Woe unto us whose friends do not write!